HNJCAL  PROOFS  OF  AUTHENTICITY 


AND  HISTORY  OF  THE 


JOHN  T 


r 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/raphaelsmadonnagOOglod 


BOSTON  RAPHAEL 

MADONNA  GONZAGA 

(ON  EXHIB.  AT  500  BOYLSTON  ST.) 


3$ta:fr0w«& 


Sterijniral  proofs  of  Anttjrntiritg 

an&  fyistorg  of  tijo 

painting 

BY 


JOHN  T.  GLODT 


Copyright  1916 
by 

John  T.  Glodt 

All  rights  reserved 


Athens  Publishing  Co. 
Boston,  Mass. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


I.  Introduction 3 

II.  Various  Opinions  on  the  Madonna  Gon- 

ZAGA 14 

III.  Idea  and  Symbolism  of  the  Boston 

Painting 22 

IV.  Proofs  of  Authenticity.  (A)  Com- 

position   23 

V.  Proofs  of  Authenticity  (continued) 

(B)  Raphael’s  Technique 43 

VI.  Proofs  of  Authenticity  (concluded) 

(C)  Signatures 

Sequence  of  Arguments.  55 

VII.  History  of  the  Madonna  Gonzaga 

The  Painting  in  Rome 72 

VIII.  The  Painting  in  Mantua 95 

IX.  The  Painting  in  England 109 

X.  The  Painting  in  Spain 127 

XI.  The  Painting  in  the  Hands  of  Joseph 

Bonaparte 136 

XII.  The  Painting  in  Boston 157 

Bibliography 170 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

OPP. 

PACE 

1.  (Frontispiece);  Madonna  gonzaga.  Boston.  Ra- 

phael  

2.  (Detail);  The  Child  Christ  Boston.  Raphael..  12 

3.  (Detail);  Head  of  the  Madonna  Gonzaga  Boston 

Raphael 16 

4.  (Opposite);  Types  of  Mother  and  Child.  Oxford 

drawing.  Raphael.  22 

5.  Study  for  a Madonna.  Oxford.  Raphael....  26 

6.  Study  for  a Madonna.  Malcom  Collection. 

Raphael 30 

7.  Mother  and  Child.  Raphael 34 

8.  Raphael,  by  Himself.  Offices.  Florence 36 

9.  Old  Mantuan  Madonna 40 

10.  Madonna  della  Sedia.  Pitti  Gallery,  Florence. 

Raphael 44 

11.  Madonna  della  Tenda.  Munich.  Raphael. ...  46 

12.  Madonna  del  Granduca.  Pitti  Gallery,  Florence. 

Raphael.  54 

13.  Saint  Barbara 66 

14.  Isabella  d’Este.  Boston.  Mrs.  Gardner’s  col- 

lection.   72 

15.  Leonardo  da  Vinci  dying  in  the  Arms  of  F rancis 

I.  Ingres.  Polidoro  Caldara  (?)  Copyright  by 
Thomas  E.  Marr,  1910 96 


OPP. 

PAGE 

16.  Charles  I.  of  England  and  Family.  Van  Dyck. 

Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts 100 

17.  Cromwell  at  Whitehall.  Shrader 114 

18.  Philip  IV.,  King  of  Spain.  Velasquez.  Boston 

Museum  of  Fine  Arts 126 

19.  Napoleon  crossing  the  Alps.  Louvre,  Paris, 

David 132 

20.  Joseph  Bonaparte,  King  of  Spain.  Gerard.  . . 134 

21.  The  Child  Christ  and  St.  John  (Detail  of  a lost 

painting  by  Rubens).  Vienna.  School  of 
Rubens 142 

22.  Madonna  Gonzaga  (Philadelphia  mezzotint). 

Boston.  152 

23.  Eugene  Beauharnais,  Duke  of  Leuchtenberg.  162 

24.  Madonna  Leuchtenberg  (Munich  lithography). 

Boston.  164 

V 


fintro&urtlon 


Boston  was  aroused  a few  years  ago  by  the 
discovery  of  a Madonna  by  Raphael.  The 
papers  announced  the  event  in  large  and  con- 
spicuous headlines,  and  gave  a cut  of  the  paint- 
ing. The  composition  looked  Raphaelesque, 
but  could  this  be  a genuine  work  by  the  divine 
Sanzio?  The  claim  looked  pretentious  to  the 
students  of  art.  They  had  been  in  European 
galleries,  they  had  admired  Raphael's  works, 
and  here,  they  were  asked  to  believe,  was 
Boston  harboring  for  three  generations  a Ma- 
donna by  the  greatest  of  artists,  without  knowing 
anything  about  its  priceless  treasure. 

Of  these  art  students  many  came  to  the  studio 
(1)  where  the  painting  is  now  on  exhibition, 
with  an  incredulous  smile  on  their  lips,  only  to 
see  their  doubts  vanish  and  their  admiration 
increase  as  they  fixed  their  enraptured  gaze  on 
this  marvel  of  art.  Painters  who  had  copied 

(1)  Ryan  and  Duffee,  500  Boylston  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 


10 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


the  works  of  Raphael,  writers  who  have  pub- 
lished books  on  art,  amateurs  who  delight  in 
visiting  galleries  of  paintings,  visitors  from  all 
ranks  and  positions  in  life  flocked  to  the  studio, 
many  to  return  again  and  again.  Ministers 
who  have- made  the  painting  the  theme  of  their 
discourses,  and  teachers  who  have  spoken  about 
it  to  their  pupils,  have  helped  greatly  in  making 
it  known. 

Other  students,  more  conservative,  admired 
the  painting  but  entertained  doubt  as  to  its 
origin.  Before  yielding  in  their  skeptical  atti- 
tude these  men  required  that  technical  proofs 
of  the  painting’s  authenticity  be  given  with 
some  information  about  its  history  and  wander- 
ings from  place  to  place  during  the  four  centuries 
that  separate  us  from  Raphael.  In  other  words, 
they  would  be  satisfied  only  with  a consistent 
and  well  connected  account  of  the  historical 
facts  which  occasioned  the  transfer  of  the  paint- 
ing from  one  country  to  another.  In  this  mono- 
graph an  attempt  has  been  made  to  present 
these  proofs  and  to  retrace  the  history  of  the 
painting. 

In  his  life  of  Demosthenes,  Plutarch  says  that 
the  historian  who  undertakes  to  write  a book  on 
a matter  at  once  distant  in  the  past  and  con- 
cerning foreign  countries  must  first  of  all  live  in 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


11 


a city  which  is  populous  and  famous  for  its 
culture,  where  he  may  find  at  hand  an  abundance 
of  books  of  all  kinds.  These  conditions  are 
certainly  realized  in  art  loving  Boston,  whose 
famous  public  library  is  rich  in  books  on  art. 
The  service  is  at  the  same  time  excellent,  so  that 
there  is  no  unnecessary  loss  of  time  in  obtaining 
the  books  required  for  such  work  of  research. 

The  only  difficulty  is  in  following  the  painting 
from  one  place  to  another.  To  follow  up  all  the 
works  of  Raphael  in  their  wanderings  is  well- 
nigh  impossible.  They  appear  and  disappear 
in  the  course  of  ages  before  arriving  at  the  gal- 
leries where  they  are  now  admired.  Unless 
their  wanderings  have  been  few,  like  those  of  the 
Sistine  Madonna,  or  those  of  the  Madonna  of 
Francis  I,  or  of  St.  Michael  Slaying  the  Dragon, 
their  history  cannot  be  reconstructed.  Still  it 
can  be  done  for  the  Madonna  in  question.  It 
is  such  an  important  production,  even  when 
compared  to  the  other  paintings  by  Raphael, 
that  it  left  records  wherever  it  happened  to  be. 
It  was  always  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  finest 
paintings  in  the  collection  where  it  was  for  the 
time  being,  and  at  the  sale  of  the  paintings 
belonging  to  Charles  I it  was  the  highest  priced 
for  its  size.  So  it  is  possible  to  retrace  its  history. 

Not  only  does  the  name  of  Raphael  render  this 


12 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


painting  interesting,  but  the  period  to  which  it 
belongs  adds  to  its  importance.  It  is  one  of  the 
last  works  of  his  Roman  period,  a period  when 
the  painter  was  at  his  zenith  and  when  kings  and 
princes  vied  in  their  efforts  to  obtain  a work  of 
his,  were  it  only  a simple  drawing.  It  was  left 
over  in  his  studio  after  his  death;  thus  it  has  a 
place  of  its  own  among  the  works  of  Sanzio 
both  for  its  excellence  and  for  the  historical 
interest  it  presents. 

Aside  from  its  technical  qualities,  the  Boston 
painting  forces  itself  upon  our  attention  for  its 
high  devotional  character.  The  Sistine  Madonna 
has  been  pronounced  by  many  authors  the  most 
devotional  painting  in  existence.  The  Virgin, 
life-size,  stepping  on  clouds,  the  figures  of  the 
two  saints,  the  lovely  little  angels  at  the  bottom 
looking  up  to  heaven,  the  expression  of  both 
Madonna  and  Child,  are  apt  to  create  strong 
devotional  feeling.  It  is  a glimpse  of  heaven 
such  as  only  Fra  Angelico  and  Raphael  could 
give  us.  The  Boston  painting  is  smaller.  The 
figures  are  not  life-size,  but  with  regard  to  de- 
votional character  the  expression  of  both  the 
Mother  and  the  Child  can  compare  most  favor- 
ably, at  least,  with  those  of  the  Sistine  Madonna. 
Nothing  more  beautiful  can  be  conceived.  After 
having  painted  the  features  of  the  Madonna  so 


BOSTON 


THE  CHILD  CHRIST  DETAIL) 


RAPHAEL 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


13 


often,  as  only  his  mind  could  imagine  them, 
Raphael  gives  us  here  his  last  inspiration  of  Her 
who  haunted  the  dreams  of  so  many  great 
masters. 


Boston,  Mass.,  October  6,  1916. 


CHAPTER  I. 


Various  Opinions  on  the  Madonna  Gonzaga. 

Of  all  the  paintings  by  Raphael  there  is  none 
that  has  given  rise  in  the  past  to  more  serious 
discussion  and  more  searching  study  than  the 
so-called  Madonna  Gonzaga.  The  recent  dis- 
covery of  a painting  in  Boston  bearing  the  un- 
mistakable marks  of  Raphael’s  hand  has  again 
opened  up  a line  of  inquiry  regarding  its  pro- 
duction and  subsequent  history. 

In  1856  Marquis  Campori  discovered  in  the 
archives  of  the  Gonzaga  family  of  Mantua  docu- 
ments in  the  form  of  letters  exchanged  between 
the  Marchioness  Isabella  d’Este  of  Mantua  and 
Agostino  Gonzaga  then  residing  in  Rome. 
These  letters  relate  to  an  order  given  Raphael 
during  the  year  1515  for  a painting  to  be  executed 
by  him.  It  is  most  probable  that  Raphael  was 
anxious  to  comply  with  the  request  of  the  most 
prominent  Italian  lady  of  his  time.  We  learn 
from  the  documents  that  he  worked  on  the 
painting  at  intervals,  but  that  it  was  not  yet 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


15 


finished  to  his  satisfaction  in  1519.  (1)  Raphael 
died  the  following  April. 

The  question  for  us  to  settle  is  this:  Was  the 

painting  ever  finished  and  delivered?  And  if 
so,  what  was  the  subject  treated  and  where  is 
the  painting  at  the  present  time? 

Among  art  critics  we  find  two  different 
opinions  on  the  subject.  Campori,  who  dis- 
covered the  documents  above  referred  to,  be- 
lieves that  the  painting  was  executed  and  that 
it  represented  a Madonna.  Muntz,  the  best 
authority  on  Raphael,  accepts  his  conclusions 
and  says:  “This  picture,  which  M.  Campori 

identifies  with  the  small  Madonna  mentioned  in 
ancient  documents  as  hanging  in  the  gallery  of 
the  Duke  of  Mantua,  is  now  lost.”  (2) 

Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle  are  of  a quite  different 
opinion.  “Nothing,”  they  write,  “had  come  of 
the  promise  in  1516  and  nothing  came  of  it  later, 
nor  was  anything  likely  to  come  from  a man  so 


(1)  Agostirio  Gonzaga  to  the  Marchioness  of  Mantua 
from  Rome,  June,  1515.  Alfonzo  Paolucci  to  the  Duke 
of  Ferrara,  1519,  in  Campori’s  “Noticie  e documente  per 
la  vita  di  Giovanni  Santi  e di  Raffaelo  Sand,”  page  10. 

(2)  Raphael,  from  the  French  of  Eugene  Muntz,  London , 
1882,  page  599. 


16 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


busy  and  so  energetically  pressed  by  patrons  as 
Raphael  was.”  (1) 

Rosenberg,  who  is  one  of  the  latest  students  of, 
Raphael  and  to  whom  we  owe  so  much  research 
mentions  the  different  unsuccessful  attempts  to 
identify  the  Madonna  Gonzaga  with  some  known 
works  by  the  great  artist.  He  calls  attention  to 
four  pamphlets  recently  published  on  the  subject 
(2)  and  adds  as  his  own  opinion  that  Isabella 
apparently  never  possessed  a painting  by 
Raphael.  (3) 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  such  a critic 
as  Rosenberg  could  support  this  theory  of  Crowe 
and  Cavalcaselle.  Raphael  did  not  neglect  this 
order.  There  were  too  many  influential  person- 
ages in  Rome  to  remind  him  of  his  promise. 
Furthermore,  the  documents  show  that  he 
worked  on  the  painting  at  intervals  from  1515, 
when  the  canvas  for  the  painting  with  “ la  misura 
del  quadro  et  il  lume”  was  sent  by  Isabella 
through  a special  envoy  from  Mantua,  to  1519 
when  Paolucci  wrote  to  his  master  that  the 

(1)  Raphael,  His  Life  and  Work — by  Crowe  and  Caval- 
caselle, London,  1885,  vol.  ii,  page  355. 

(2)  La  petite  Sainte-famille  de  Raphael,  Madonna 
piccola  d’Isabelle  de  Gonzague,  Paris,  1892,  1896,  1900, 
E.  Jacobsen,  “Die  Madonna  piccola  Gonzaga,”  Strassburg, 
1906. 

(3)  Adolphe  Rosenberg,  Raffael,  4th  edition,  page  246. 


RAPHAEL 


THE  HEAD  OF  THE  VIRGIN  (DETAIL) 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


17 


painting  was  yet  unfinished.  Moreover  there 
was  a Madonna  by  him  left  over  in  his  studio 
after  his  death.  The  painting  was  transferred 
to  Mantua  and  till  now  has  never  been  identified. 

The  most  comprehensive  opinion  on  this  sub- 
ject is  held  by  Julia  Cartwright.  This  author 
not  only  admits  the  Madonna  to  have  been 
painted  but,  for  the  first  time,  brings  this  dis- 
covery made  by  Campori  into  connection  with 
that  bf  a later  historian.  “Claude  Phillips 
mentions  in  his  ‘ Picture  Gallery  of  Charles  I ’ a 
small  Madonna  by  Raphael,  the  highest  priced 
of  the  collection  for  its  size.  (1)  Among  the 
‘ Mantuan  pieces  ’ bought  by  Charles  I there  were 
two  pictures  bearing  the  great  Urbinate’s  name. 
One  of  these  was  the  Holy  Family,  known  as 
‘la  Perla,’  a picture  painted  in  Raphael’s  later 
days,  chiefly  by  the  hands  of  his  assistants,  for 
Lodovico  da  Canossa,  which  was  afterwards 
acquired  by  Duke  Vincenzo  I . The  other  was  a 
‘quadretto’,  described  in  the  inventory  of  the 
King’s,  sale  as  a little  Virgin  and  Child  and 
valued  at  the  high  price  of  £800.”  (2) 

Miss  Cartwright  then  goes  on  to  mention  an 
unsuccessful  attempt  of  Claude  Phillips  to 

(1)  Claude  Phillips,  Picture  Gallery  of  Charles  I,  page  80. 

(2)  Isabella  d’Este,  by  Julia  Cartwright,  London,  1903, 
Vol.  ii,  page  164. 


18 


Raphael’s  Nadonna  Gonzaga 


identify  this  second  painting  with  that  of  the 
“Vierge  de  la  maison  d’Orleans.”  She  herself, 
however,  is  not  any  more  successful  than  he  in 
her  attempt  to  identify  it  with  the  Madonna 
Mackintosh.  “It  is  possible,”  she  writes,  “that 
this  sadly  injured  painting,  which  still  retains 
the  matchless  charm  of  Raphael’s  design,  may 
be  the  picture  on  which  Castiglione  watched 
the  great  master  at  work  in  the  last  days  of 
his  life,  and  for  which  Isabella  waited  so  long  in 
vain.”  (1) 

The  Madonna  Mackintosh,  however,  was  well 
known  long  before  Raphael’s  death.  A reproduc- 
tion of  this  painting  is  due  to  Domenico  Alfani, 
who  copied  the  composition  already  in  1518.  (2) 

We  see,  therefore,  in  the  works  of  the  critics 
this  mysterious  Madonna  mentioned  again  and 
again  along  with  their  vain  efforts  to  identify 
it.  Going  through  the  catalogues  of  the  best 
collections  in  successive  ages  and  through  docu- 
ments relating  to  the  same  catalogues,  we  find 
mentioned,  as  we  just  saw,  a small  high-priced 
Madonna  by  Raphael  in  Isabella’s  collection 
and  afterwards  in  that  of  Charles  I.  Of  this 
painting  Claude  Phillips  says,  “It  is  clear  that 
the  Madonna  so  highly  estimated  must  have 

(1)  Julia  Cartwright,  1.  c , page  80. 

(2)  See  Rosenberg,  page  235. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


19 


been  a well-known  and  covetable  work  univer- 
sally put  down  to  the  Master.”  (1) 

This  Madonna  was  sold  out  of  the  country  in 
the  month  of  June  or  July,  1653.  (2)  Mazarin’s 
agent,  M.  de  Bordeaux,  who  later  assumed  the 
title  of  French  ambassador,  made  steps  to  obtain 
the  painting  but  it  had  already  passed  into  other 
hands.  We  have  reasons  to  believe  that  Alonzo 
de  Cardenas,  the  Spanish  ambassador,  had  been 
more  successful  and  had  purchased  the  Madonna 
for  his  royal  master. 

Passavant,  who  recorded  and  described  all 
possible  works  by  Raphael  which  he  was  able 
to  find  in  his_  researches,  mentions  a small 
Madonna,  still  unidentified,  as  having  been  at 
some  date  in  the  Escurial.  (3)  There  it  was 
seen  and  thus  described  by  Raphael  Mengs,  the 
painter  and  writer:  “A  Madonna  and  Child 

by  Raphael,  resembling  in  its  composition  very 
closely  the  Madonna  della  Sedia  in  Florence 
except  that  the  picture  in  Florence  is  round  in 
form  while  the  one  in  Madrid  is  square;  that  in 
the  latter  the  figure  of  St.  John  is  missing,  and 

(1)  Claude  Phillips,  1.  c.,  page  80. 

(2)  Richesses  du  palais  Mazarin,  par  le  comte  de  Cosnac, 
page  175. 

(3)  J.  D.  Passavant: — Rafael  von^Urbino,  vol.  ii,  page 
408. 


20  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 

that  the  two  remaining  figures  are  of  lesser  size 
than  those  of  the  Madonna  della  Sedia.”  (1) 

This  description  corresponds  to  a mysterious 
painting  found  recently  in  Boston  stored  away 
among  the  art  treasures  of  an  old  Puritan  family. 

Art  critics  know  of  at  least  three  of  Raphael’s 
Madonnas  which  have  disappeared : the  Madonna 
Gonzaga,  the  Madonna  with  the  Pink,  and  that 
of  Loretto.  Though  the  collections  of  the  old 
world  have  been  carefully  searched  for  lost 
paintings  by  Raphael,  none  of  these  three  Ma- 
donnas has  been  found  there.  A number  of  old 
paintings,  however,  came  over  to  this  country 
from  France  and  England  during  the  French 
Revolution  and  the  Napoleonic  disturbances 
which  followed.  Thus  Joseph  Bonaparte  settled 
in  Bordentown,  New  Jersey,  and  sent  for  his 
gallery  of  paintings,  while  priests  in  Paris  sent 
their  paintings  to  New  France,  Canada.  Is  it 
not  possible  that  one  or  two  of  these  Madonnas 
may  have  found  their  way  to  this  country? 

It  is  evident  that  the  Boston  picture  was 
widely  known  before  its  disappearance.  Though 
there  are  numerous  recent  copies  of  Raphael’s 
works,  none  had  so  many  reproductions  in  former 
ages  as  this  beautiful  composition.  Up  to  the 

(1)  See  Opere  di  Antonio  Raffaello  Mengs,  in  Bessano, 
1783,  vol.  ii,  page  75. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


21 


present  time  seven  old  lithographs  of  the  painting 
have  been  found  in  Boston  alone.  Two  different 
ones  were  made  in  Berlin,  two  in  Paris,  two  in 
Philadelphia,  and  one  in  Munich.  Six  old  oil 
copies  are  known  to  exist  in  Boston,  one  in  the 
O’Connor  Art  Gallery  at  Trinity  College,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.,  another  in  a Jesuit  church  in  one 
of  the  first  missions  of  the  State  of  Washington. 
Two  more  have  been  found  in  Philadelphia,  one 
in  Janesville,  Wisconsin,  and  still  another  re- 
producing the  Madonna  Leuchtenburg,  itself  a 
copy  of  the  Boston  painting,  in  Lake  Providence, 
Louisiana.  Some  of  these  have  been  placed  side 
by  side  with  the  newly  discovered  picture  in 
question,  leaving  no  doubt  that  the  latter  is  the 
original.  A number  of  photos  of  old  copies, 
lithographs,  mezzotints,  or  oil  paintings,  have 
been  sent  to  the  studio  where  the  Madonna  is 
on  exhibition.  These  numerous  reproductions 
bear  testimony  to  the  excellence  of  the  long  lost 
painting  and  show  how  widely  it  was  known 
before  its  disappearance. 

In  these  few  pages  we  shall  explain  the  idea 
and  symbolism  of  the  painting;  we  shall  study 
its  authenticity  through  its  composition,  tech- 
nique, and  signatures,  and  retrace  its  history 
from  the  time  it  was  ordered  to  our  own  day. 


CHAPTER  II. 


Idea  and  Symbolism  of  the  Boston  Painting. 

In  the  painting  under  consideration  the  artist 
meant  to  represent  the  Virgin  Mother  and  the 
Child  in  colloquy  about  heavenly  things.  The 
text  of  Holy  Scripture  exemplified  here  is 
undoubtedly  that  of  St.  Luke:  “And  His 

Mother  kept  all  these  words  pondering  them  in 
her  heart”  (St.  Luke  II,  v.  19).  The  Child 
Jesus  seems  in  the  attitude  of  whispering  to  His 
Mother,  who  holds  Him  affectionately  in  her 
arms  while  she  bends  her  head  towards  Him  as 
if  listening  in  silent  contemplation.  Millet  said 
of  his  Angelus:  “I  want  the  beholder  to  hear 

the  ringing  of  the  evening  bell.”  So  here  also 
the  painter  would  create  the  impression  that  the 
Child’s  lips  are  moving  and  that  the  Mother  is 
listening  to  His  words.  The  laws  of  perspective 
are  so  well  observed  that  the  Child  seems  to 
come  forth  from  the  canvas. 

The  expression  on  both  figures  is  fascinating. 
Mary’s  type  is  quite  ideal  and  belongs  to  no  age 
and  to  no  race,  or  rather  it  belongs  to  all  ages 
and  all  nations.  Her  face  is  the  very  expression 
of  piety,  meekness,  and  purity.  Raphael  once 
more  shows  himself  master  of  expression  and 


TYPES  OF  MOTHER  AND  CHILD 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


23 


renders  different  ideas,  all  harmonizing  in  a 
wonderful  manner.  The  Virgin’s  modesty  is 
indicated  by  her  downcast  eyes,  and  this  feature, 
according  to  travellers  who  have  admired 
Sanzio’s  works  in  Italy  and  elsewhere,  is 
altogether  Raphaelesque  and  in  purest  style. 

The  wonderful  curve  of  the  Mother’s  neck 
which  no  copyist,  not  even  Van  Dyck,  was  able 
to  render,  brings  the  Mother’s  cheek  nearer  to 
that  of  her  Son,  and  thus  the  idea  of  mutual* 
tender  embrace  is  suggested.  In  the  lovely 
repose  of  the  Child  in  His  Mother’s  arms 
motherly  affection  is  again  beautifully  rendered. 
Only  a mother  can  hold  a child  thus. 

In  this  painting  there  is  an  oval  of  light  which 
has  been  attempted  in  the  Madonna  della  Sedia 
and  della  Tenda,  but  not  so  successfully  as  here. 
What  Gilbert  says  about  the  Madonna  della 
Sedia  we  can  with  more  truth  apply  to  the 
Boston  picture.  “In  the  oval  of  light  the  whole 
of  maternal  affection  seems  to  be  enclosed.”  (1) 
The  face  of  the  Mother  reveals  deep  attention  to 
the  Child’s  words  and  happiness  and  delight  to 
hear  what  He  is  saying. 

The  Child  Jesus  leaves  an  impression  that 
cannot  be  forgotten.  Here  Raphael  “attempts 

(1)  See  Catholic  Encyclopedia,  article  Raphael,  vol.  xii* 
page  646. 


24 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


the  expression  of  the  supernatural.”  Although 
the  face  is  that  of  a child,  yet  out  of  it  shines 
divine  wisdom  coupled  with  a rare  loveliness. 
Jesus  has  here  a heavenly  smile  of  happiness. 
He  looks  as  if  eager  to  say  pleasing  things  to 
His  Mother.  Though  the  Madonna  gave  the 
picture  its  name,  still  the  Christ  Child  has  the 
greater  attraction  for  us,  and,  unconsciously 
too,  absorbs  all  attention.  The  painter  wanted 
Him  to  be  the  more  important  of  the  two.  His 
lips  are  half  open  as  if  He  were  speaking  to  His 
Mother.  We  could  apply  to  Him  Robert 
Browning’s  words  on  the  Moses  of  Michael 
Angelo:  “He  has  so  prompt  and  live  the  lips, 
I listen  to  their  very  tone.”  What  does  he 
whisper  to  her?  If  the  look  of  anguish  on  the 
Sistine  Madonna  seems  to  reflect  Calvary,  here 
her  expression  indicates  heavenly  triumph.  We 
seem,  as  we  look,  to  hear  the  words,  “Thou  art 
all  fair,  O Mary,  and  no  stain  is  in  thee.” 

The  symbolism  as  we  find  it  in  this  painting, 
reminds  us  at  once  of  the  two  other  famous 
Madonnas,  the  Virgin  of  the  Chair  and  the 
Madonna  della  Tenda.  In  composition  they 
resemble  the  Boston  picture  very  closely,  with 
the  exception  that  they  both  have  a third  figure, 
St.  John  the  Baptist.  Both  are  attributed  to 
Raphael  by  all  critics,  the  Madonna  della  Sedia 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


25 


as  entirely  by  his  own  hand,  the  Madonna 
della  Tenda  as  a composition  of  his,  in  which 
several  parts  may  perhaps  have  been  executed 
by  his  pupils. 

In  them  as  well  as  in  the  Boston  painting  the 
Child  is  draped,  nestling  in  His  Mother’s  arms. 
In  all  three  rays  of  light  radiate  in  three  places 
from  the  Infant’s  head,  gleaming  in  the  obscurity 
of  the  background.  They  seem  to  meet  behind 
that  little  head,  forming  a cross,  which  we 
fancy  growing  with  the  Child  till  on  its  out- 
stretched arms  the  Saviour  of  mankind  is 
crucified.  Murillo  and  Heinrich  Hoffman  have 
this  same  symbol  on  their  best  known  master- 
pieces. 

We  hardly  mention  the  halo  over  the  Virgin’s 
head,  which  is  traditional  on  all  pictures  of  the 
saints.  The  oval  of  light  may  have  a deeper 
meaning  than  simply  to  give  us  an  effect  of 
chiaroscuro.  The  effect  of  light  in  a painting  is 
of  great  importance.  It  gives  prominence  to 
the  important  figure  or  figures,  aids  the  per- 
spective, and  illustrates  the  idea  expressed  in 
the  painting.  Here  it  attracts  our  attention 
directly  to  the  Infant  and  deepens  the  shadows 
so  that  He  seems  to  come  forth  from  the  canvas. 
We  may  give  it  a deeper  meaning  yet.  As  the 
oval  has  no  beginning  and  no  end,  so  God  Who 


26 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


is  represented  here  is  the  Alpha  and  Omega  of 
all  things. 

Symbolical,  too,  is  the  expression  in  the 
Infant’s  eyes.  If  we  look  at  those  eyes  through 
a magnifying  glass,  they  assume  a wonderful 
expression  of  adoration  and  seem  to  be  fixed  on 
distant  visions.  This  expression,  strange  to 
say,  is  not  reproduced  by  the  camera.  Raphael, 
in  painting  this  head  of  the  Christ  Child  with  its 
heavenly  smile  and  its  expression  of  adoration 
surpasses  himself  and  gives  us  an  example  of  the 
marvelous  effects  his  excellent  technique  could 
produce. 

Another  symbolical  meaning  lies  in  the  cross- 
ing of  the  Child’s  hands  on  His  breast.  This  we 
find  only  once  in  Raphael’s  other  works.  There 
is  in  the  gallery  of  the  Vatican  a small  painting 
by  Raphael  on  wood,  representing  Hope.  To 
the  left  of  this  Speranza  is  a little  angel  standing, 
who  has  his  arms  crossed  in  the  same  manner. 

If  we  are  to  believe  Vasari  (l)  even  the  colors  of 
the  vestments  have  a symbolical  meaning.  They 
typify  the  elements;  red  means  fire,  blue  is  the 
color  of  the  air,  green  that  of  the  earth,  and  the 
translucent  white  of  the  Child’s  drapery  sym- 
bolizes water. 

(1)  Vasari,  vol.  iii,  Raphael  of  Urbino,  page  151,  Scrib- 
ner’s edition,  1897. 


OXFORD  DRAWING 


RAPHAEL 


STUDY  FOR  A MADONNA 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


27 


Raphael’s  symbolism  is  interwoven  in  the 
figures  represented.  He  had  freed  himself  long 
ago  of  those  symbolical  figures  and  signs  of  his 
early  days,  when  they  had  little  connection  with 
the  subject  itself.  He  thus  obtained  greater 
unity  in  his  paintings. 

He  was  also  the  first  painter  of  the  Renaissance 
to  free  himself  of  Byzantine  stiffness  and  con- 
ventional poses,  and  his  Madonnas  are  as  natural 
as  can  be,  placed  mostly  in  God’s  beautiful 
Nature  or  in  some  interior  with  a side  view, 
through  one  or  two  openings,  on  some  distant 
hill  crowned  with  a castle  or  a convent.  In  the 
Boston  picture  he  limits  himself  to  the  two  figures 
with  no  surroundings;  they  stand  out  from  the 
dark  background  like  a vision,  a glimpse  of 
heaven. 


CHAPTER  III. 


Proofs  of  Authenticity.  (A)  Composition. 

We  come  now  to  the  evidence  that  leads  us  to 
conclude  that  this  Madonna  is  by  no  one  else 
than  the  divine  Sanzio  himself.  The  proof  rests 
principally  on  the  composition,  the  technique, 
and  the  signatures  discovered  on  the  painting. 

No  master  ever  equalled  Raphael  in  richness 
of  composition.  In  this  he  excelled  all  his  con- 
temporaries of  the  Renaissance.  Whether  he 
creates  a group  of  three  or  four  persons  or  repre- 
sents a crowd,  there  is  perfect  unity  in  the  com- 
position, every  detail  contributing  towards  the 
idea  he  wants  to  represent  or  the  story  he  wishes 
to  tell.  Yet  what  variety  in  the  types,  faces, 
poses,  and  folds!  Every  line  is  faultless.  This 
excellence  of  composition  is  manifested  especially 
in  his  famous  cartoons  now  in  the  Victoria  and 
Albert  Museum,  London,  while  his  power  of 
varying  the  same  theme  can  be  seen  in  his 
numerous  Madonnas. 

Two  facts  strike  the  student  of  Raphael’s 
paintings.  The  first  is  this,  that  painting  the 
Madonna  was  his  favorite  work;  and  the  second 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


29 


is  that  a number  of  his  Madonnas  have  by  some 
kind  of  fatality  unfortunately  disappeared.  (1) 

At  the  age  of  seventeen  or  eighteen  years, 
Raphael  entered  the  studio  of  Perugino  as 
apprentice.  In  those  days  the  painters  to  whom 
fame  had  come  early  received  from  princes  and 
cardinals,  from  religious  communities  and  parish 
churches  many  orders  for  the  picture  of  the 
Madonna.  In  many  cases  they  did  little  more 
than  draw  the  outlines  of  the  painting  leaving 
the  development  of  the  picture  to  their  pupils. 
In  the  studio  of  his  master,  Raphael  developed 
a perfect  passion  for  painting  the  Madonna. 
“In  a short  time,”  says  one  writer,  “he  became  a 
sort  of  foreman  of  the  studio,  supervising  the  mak- 
ing of  those  countless  Madonnas  for  which  Peru- 
gino’s  studio  was  the  best  patronized  in  Italy.”  (2) 
We  call  this  his  Umbrian  period.  While  in  Flor- 
ence, several  works  of  his,  the  Madonna  Colonna, 
now  in  the  Metropolitan  Museum  in  New  York, 
the  Madonna  Ansidei,  now  in  the  National 
Gallery,  London,  and  his  famous  Sposalizio, 
Milan,  were  still  executed  in  the  same  style. 

During  his  Florentine  period  painting  the 
Madonna  remained  his  favorite  work  and 
absorbed  the  greater  part  of  his  time.  (3)  How 

(1)  See  Rosenberg,  page  23. 

(2)  Catholic  Encyclopedia,  1.  c.,  page  641. 

(3)  Rosenberg,  1.  c.,  page  19. 


30 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


many  Madonnas  he  painted  in  those  days  we  do 
not  know,  but  in  all  those  we  have  of  that  period 
we  can  trace  the  progress  of  the  painter  in  his  art. 
Under  Leonardo  da  Vinci’s  influence  he  had 
changed  his  methods.  By  and  by  he  rose  to  a 
higher  ideal. 

While  at  Rome  fame  had  come  to  the  young 
painter,  and  a world-wide  renown  was  his  at  that 
time.  Monarchs,  dukes,  and  princes,  among 
them  the  King  of  France,  made  earnest  efforts 
to  obtain  his  paintings.  At  the  same  time  Pope 
Julius  II,  and,  after  him,  Leo  X,  as  also  some 
old  aristocratic  Roman  families,  forced  so  many 
orders  on  him  that  it  was  impossible  for  one  man 
to  satisfy  them  all.  Like  other  masters,  Raphael 
as  a rule  sketched  the  outlines  of  the  picture, 
leaving  it  to  his  students  to  execute  under  his 
supervision  the  details  and  decorations.  But 
even  then,  among  so  many  various  occupations, 
his  delight  was  to  paint  the  Madonna,  and  the 
pictures  of  this  period  remain  his  masterpieces. 
Some  he  finished  himself  without  the  assistance 
of  his  pupils. 

All  these  Madonnas  have  many  points  of 
resemblance j and  still  there  is  in  them  great 
variety.  They  prove  the  wonderful  versatility 
of  his  talent;  for  Raphael  never  repeats  himself, 
and  there  is  an  original  idea  in  every  one  of  his 


STUDY  FOR  A MADONNA 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  31 

Madonnas.  Though  the  types  remain  the  same 
and  the  folds  are  peculiar  to  him,  as  also  the  tone 
and  the  technique,  the  composition  is  always 
different  and  carefully  studied.  Many  extant 
drawings  enable  us  to  trace  his  studies.  On  some 
the  lines  reproduce  three  or  four  ideas  at  a time, 
so  that  the  master  on  any  new  order  given  could 
present  the  Madonna  under  a new  aspect. 

With  regard  to  the  Boston  painting,  one  draw- 
ing described  by  Passavant  gives  us  an  idea  of 
his  preparatory  work.  There  was  in  the  col- 
lection of  the  sculptor  Thorwaldsen  a drawing  of 
a Madonna  attributed  to  Raphael.  The  cartoon 
is  two  feet  high.  The  Virgin  on  it,  half-figure* 
inclines  her  head  a little  to  the  right  and  holds 
the  Child,  who  is  lying  across  her  lap,  with  her 
two  hands,  principally  with  the  right  one.  The 
Infant  holds  His  head  to  the  Virgin’s  side  and 
looks  up  past  her.  His  right  hand  on  His  breast  , 
His  left  foot  over  His  extended  right.  (1) 

This  may  be  the  original  drawing  of  the  Boston 
painting.  But  for  a slight  change — the  left  foot 
hidden  beneath  the  extended  right — the  composi- 
tion is  identical.  Raphael  studied  carefully  the 
poses  of  the  different  figures  of  his  Madonnas. 
There  are  many  cartoons  by  him  in  which  we 


(1)  Passavant,  1.  c.,  II,  pages  490-491. 


32 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


recognize  sketches  of  the  various  paintings  which 
have  come  down  to  us. 

A composition  somewhat  similar  to  the  Boston 
painting  is  in  the  Oxford  collection,  with  this 
difference  that  the  Child  has  His  hands  on  a 
book  held  up  by  the  Mother.  (1)  In  the  museum 
of  the  Louvre  there  is  also  a drawing  by  Raphael, 
giving  the  same  poses  to  the  Mother  and  Child, 
with  the  exception  that  the  Mother  holds  the 
book  in  her  right  hand,  and  the  Child  turns  to 
the  left  towards  it.  His  hands  are  folded  on 
His  breast. 

Another  composition  resembling  our  painting 
is  in  the  form  of  a medallion  on  a sketch  for  a 
tomb.  This  drawing  is  kept  in  the  Chatsworth 
collection.  (2)  About  this  sketch  Muntz  speaks 
as  follows: — “Raphael  executed  another  work 
for  Isabella  Gonzaga,  of  which  mention  is  made 
in  a letter  written  by  Castiglione  to  his  patroness 
on  the  5th  of  June,  1519:  ‘Regarding  what 

your  Excellency  writes  me  on  the  subject  "f  a 
tomb  I think  you  ought  to  be  satisfied  with 
what  Raphael  has  done.  Monsignor  Tricarico 
has  undertaken  to  bring  them  to  you.  These 

(1)  See  Muntz,  page  165. 

(2)  The  Chatsworth  Raffaeles,  a series  of  twenty  auto- 
type reproductions  of  the  Raffaele  drawings  in  the  collec- 
tion of  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  and  Chatsworth,  London, 
1872,  20th  pi. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


33 


designs  seem  to  me  suitable  in  every  way. 
Michael  Angelo  is  not  in  Rome  and  I do  not 
know  whom  to  go  to  except  Raphael.  I am 
certain  his  proposal  will  be  received  with  favor 
by  you.’  M.  Campori,  to  whom  we  owe  our 
knowledge  of  this  correspondence,  is  disposed  to 
think  that  these  allusions  are  to  a tomb  for 
Isabella’s  husband,  who  had  died  a few  months 
before.  Various  events  combined  to  prevent 
the  execution  of  the  monument.”  (1) 

An  important  part  of  the  design  in  this  sketch 
belonging  to  the  Chatsworth  collection  is  a 
medallion  to  be  placed  over  the  grave.  In  this 
medallion  is  to  be  placed  a Madonna,  which  in 
its  crude  outlines  resembes  our  painting.  It  is 
quite  possible  that  this  sketch  kept  in  the  Chats- 
worth collection  is  a part  of  the  drawings  sent  to 
the  Marchioness  through  Mgr.  Tricarico,  espe- 
cially as  this  is  the  only  drawing  of  its  kind 
we  have  by  Raphael. 

The  important  fact  for  us  is  this:  the  com- 
position of  that  small  sketch  of  a Madonna  is 
similar  to  that  of  the  picture  discovered  in 
Boston.  The  latter,  therefore,  is  Raphaelesque 
in  its  composition,  and,  as  we  further  know  from 
documents  that  at  that  date,  1519,  the  Madonna 
Gonzaga  was  yet  unfinished  in  Raphael’s  studio, 

(1)  Muntz,  1.  c.,  page  599. 


34 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


perhaps  Sanzio  expected  it  to  be  placed  in  the 
medallion  over  the  Marquis’  grave,  where  it 
would  have  been  in  quite  an  appropriate  set- 
ting. 

The  composition  of  our  picture  in  its  entirety 
is  Raphaelesque,  for  every  detail  is  found  in 
other  works  of  the  master,  especially  in  his 
Madonnas,  with  the  exception  of  the  lovely 
pose  of  the  Child’s  foot  on  the  Virgin’s  fore- 
arm. 

The  Boston  painting  is  the  only  one  in  which 
this  feature  occurs  and  it  gives  the  painting  quite 
an  original  touch.  In  the  Madonna  of  the 
Solly  collection,  painted  when  Raphael  was  only 
nineteen  years  old,  we  find  a somewhat  similar 
pose.  It  is  reproduced  five  years  later  in  the 
Madonna  from  the  House  of  Orleans,  again  in 
the  Madonna  Mackintosh  painted  about  1513; 
but  in  all  three  the  Virgin  holds  the  Child’s  foot 
In  the  palm  of  her  hand,  while  in  the  Boston 
painting  it  rests  lightly  on  her  forearm. 

The  fact  that  the  Child  is  draped  gives  our 
painting  even  a more  original  touch  and  an 
appearance  very  different  from  that  of  Raphael’s 
other  works.  We  are  so  accustomed  to  seeing 
the  Child  nude  in  Raphael’s  Madonnas  that  this 
drapery  led  some  to  question  the  authenticity  of 
this  painting.  The  fact  is  that  this  feature 


MALCOLM  COLLECTION 


RAPHAEL 


MOTHER  AND  CHILD 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


35 


depended  several  times  upon  the  patrons  by 
whom  the  picture  was  ordered.  Moreover  the 
Child  is  draped  in  at  least  three  other  Ma- 
donnas. 

In  1503,  Raphael  began  an  important  work 
for  the  nuns  of  the  Convent  of  San  Antonio, 
in  Perugia,  (l)  It  had  been  left  unfinished, 
when  two  years  later  the  young  painter  re- 
turned to  that  city  to  add  the  Saints  Peter 
and  Paul  to  the  picture  of  the  Madonna  which 
forms  the  principal  part  of  the  decoration  of 
the  main  altar.  In  this  Madonna  the  Child 
is  draped  and  this,  as  Vasari  notes,  because 
of  the  Sisters’  wish.  “In  the  same  city  (Peru- 
gia) Raphael  was  commissioned  to  paint  a 
picture  of  Our  Lady  by  the  nuns  of  San  An- 
tonio of  Padua.  The  Infant  Christ  is  in  the 
lap  of  the  Virgin  and  is  fully  clothed,  as  it 
pleased  those  simple  and  pious  ladies  that  it 
should  be.” 

These  nuns  were  conforming  to  a custom  quite 
common  at  that  time  in  instructing  Raphael 
regarding  the  character  of  the  picture  they 
desired,  for  as  one  writer  states  it  is  an  estab- 
lished fact  that  in  his  time  those  who  ordered  a 

(1)  This  Madonna  is  now  in  the  Metropolitan  Museum 
of  Fine  Arts,  the  gift  of  Mr.  Pierpont  Morgan.  The  Pieta, 
belonging  to  the  same  altar,  is  now  in  Mrs.  J.  Gardner’s 
collection,  Boston. 


36 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


picture  often  prescribed  to  the  artist  not  only 
the  number  of  figures  they  wished  to  be  repre- 
sented, but  the  names  also  of  the  persons  to  be 
portrayed  and  sometimes  the  very  positions  they 
desired  to  be  given  them.  (1) 

This  was  especially  true  in  the  case  of  Isabella 
d’Este.  From  her  correspondence  with  Perugino 
we  see  that  she  pointed  out  to  him  all  the  faces 
she  wanted  to  be  reproduced  in  her  Love  and 
Chastity.  (2)  Several  of  the  best  known  paint- 
ings by  Mantegna  and  Costa  were  entirely 
inspired  by  her. 

This  we  may  presume  also  of  the  Raphael 
Madonna.  She  probably  borrowed  the  idea,  as 
we  shall  see  later  on,  from  a Madonna  belonging 
to  her  gallery.  She  probably  wanted  the  Child 
entirely  draped,  the  folds  encircling  the  small 
body  in  the  same  manner  as  in  her  other 
Madonna. 

As  we  have  remarked  before,  we  find  the  Child 
draped  in  other  Madonnas  by  Raphael,  for 
example,  the  Virgin  of  the  Chair  and  the  Ma- 
donna della  Tenda.  In  the  Chatsworth  collec- 
tion there  exists  a drawing  for  a Madonna 
ascribed  to  Raphael,  in  which  the  Child  is  stand - 

(1)  Musee  de  peinture  et  de  sculpture,  Paris,  1829 
Vol.  I,  page  31. 

(2)  See  Muntz,  1.  c.,  page  43. 


FLORENCE,  OFFICES  RAPHAEL 

PORTRAIT  OF  RAPHAEL  BY  HIMSELF 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


37 


ing,  fully  draped  in  a large  garment,  the  Mother 
near  teaching  her  Child.  The  draping  of  the 
Child  is,  therefore,  not  so  unusual  with  Raphael 
after  all. 

The  unmistakable  marks  of  the  master’s 
composition,  however,  are  the  types  of  both 
Mother  and  Child.  They  are  the  same  all 
through  Raphael’s  works  and  defy  all  efforts  of 
copyists  to  reproduce  them.  In  the  Boston 
Museum  of  Fine  Arts  there  are  two  beautiful 
old  copies,  the  one  from  the  Bridgewater,  the 
other  from  the  Loretto  Madonnas.  But  how 
different  the  faces  are  from  Raphael’s  types! 

Grueger,  referring  to  the  Madonna  della  Sedia, 
said,  “An  infinity  of  reproductions  have  been 
made  of  the  picture.  Not  one  of  them  gives  a 
true  idea  of  it.’’  The  same  applies  to  the  Boston 
painting.  Though  the  copies  found  up  to  the 
present  are  executed  with  great  skill  in  every 
detail,  yet  all  fall  far  behind  the  original.  We 
have  here  the  classical  head  of  the  Virgin,  her 
ideal  type*  attempted  so  to  speak  by  all  painters , 
but  brought  out  with  rare  perfection  by  Raphael 
alone.  This  type  we  trace  through  his  entire 
work.  From  the  day  he  was  foreman  of 
Perugino’s  studio  to  his  last  painting  of  the 
Virgin,  it  is  identically  the  same,  just  as  we  find 
it  in  his  cartoons  also.  There  is  in  the  British 


38 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


Museum  a fine  drawing  of  a head  of  the  Virgin 
and  Child,  reproduced  as  a frontispiece  by  Muntz 
in  his  voluminous  work  on  Raphael.  Those  two 
faces  present  the  typical  features  we  see  in  all 
Raphael’s  Madonnas,  Passavant  already  saw 
great  similarity  in  those  two  types  with  those 
in  the  Madonnas  by  Raphael’s  father,  Giovanni 
Santi. 

We  may  suppose  that  this  Italian  painter  of 
the  Madonna  often  took  his  young  wife  and  baby, 
Raphael,  as  models,  and  so  the  child  gazed  many 
a time  on  the  two  faces,  which  fixed  themselves 
indelibly  in  his  memory.  Raphael  succeeded  in 
seeing  things  with  his  imagination  as  clearly  as 
the  portraitist  who  works  from  life.  Also  he 
avers  that  though  he  used  models,  still  he  never 
servilely  copied  them.  His  powerful  genius 
created  the  expressions  and  other  details  of  the 
figures  he  was  to  represent  on  canvas.  He  was 
a master  in  expression. 

Raphael  was  indeed  largely  endowed  with  the 
power  of  “imparting  the  most  exquisite  expres- 
sion to  his  faces,  and  the  most  graceful  character 
to  the  heads  of  his.  pictures.’’  (1)  He  could 
blend  several  sentiments  so  harmoniously  on 
panel  or  canvas  that  they  baffle  the  art  of  copy- 
ists. Some  panels  are  so  small  that  the  paintings 
(1)  Vasari,  1.  c.,  page  157. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


39 


look  like  miniatures,  and  the  magnifying' 
glass  alone  can  do  them  full  justice.  So  he  took 
the  type  of  his  own  mother  and  of  himself,  as 
he  had  seen  them  so  often  reproduced  on  canvas 
by  his  father,  and  gave  to  them  various  expres- 
sions. This  thought  is  rendered  beautifully  by 
Margaret  Preston  in  a poem  entitled,  “The 
Child  Raphael.”  (l) 

I know  you  have  heard  the  story 
And  gotten  the  name  by  heart, 

Of  one  of  the  grand  old  masters; 

They  call  him  the  “ Prince  of  Art.” 

Who  painted  the  purest  pictures, 

Christs  of  the  gentliest  mien, 

And  the  loveliest  Virgin  Mother 
That  ever  the  world  has  seen. 

What  visions  suggested  the  graces 
That  o’er  his  Madonnas  shine 
And  where  could  he  find  a baby 
To  paint,  that  was  so  divine? 

And  whence  had  he  skill  to  do  it, 

And  how  did  he  come  to  know 

(1)  Mary  Lovejoy,  Raphael,  The  Prince  of  Art,  page 
127. 


40 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


Better  than  all  the  Masters 
Why  he  should  paint  them  so? 

In  an  old  Italian  city, 

Urbino,  the  queer  and  quaint, 

There  lived  Giovanni  Santi, 

An  artist  who  loved  to  paint. 

And  when  he  had  need  of  models, 

What  models  so  sweet  could  be 
To  him,  as  his  beautiful  Magia 
With  her  baby  upon  her  knee 

And  so  she  was  called  Madonna 
For  whom  she  so  often  sufficed, 

And  so  they  called  her  baby 
Raphael:  the  Infant  thrist. 

And  surely,  a mystic  radiance 
Over  the  boy  would  shine 
As  he  thought  they  deemed  him  worthy 
To  image  the  Child  Divine! 

No  wonder  he  walked  exulting 
Through  all  of  his  happy  years ! 

No  wonder  she  looked  celestial 
As  seen  through  his  orphan  tears ! 


MANTUA 

OLD  MANTUAN  MADONNA 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


41 


The  memory  that  filled  his  childhood 
On  his  canvas  left  its  trace, 

For  each  of  his  sweet  Madonnas 
Holds  hint  of  his  mother’s  face. 

In  this  painting  the  Mother  and  Child  are  in 
colloquy  about  heavenly  things.  The  Child’s 
lips  are  half  parted  and  the  Mother  is  listening. 
This  idea  of  colloquy  is  altogether  in  Raphael’s 
manner  and  is  found  in  many  of  his  best  known 
Madonnas.  Raphael  pictures  sentiment;  it  is 
rendered  in  the  expression  of  the  features,  but 
reproduced,  too,  by  those  half  parted  lips  which 
seem  to  utter  a sound.  In  the  Madonna  di 
Casa  Tempi  we  see  the  Virgin  pressing  the 
Infant  to  her.  Her  face  expresses  tenderness  of 
feeling,  and  from  her  half  opened  mouth  we  seem 
to  hear  that  deep  sigh  of  affection  which  a mother 
alone  can  utter  when  close  to  her  offspring. 
In  the  Madonna  di  Casa  Colonna  and  in  the 
large  Cowper  Madonna , the  lips  of  the  Child 
are  half  open  and  seem  to  utter  a cry  of  delight. 
In  the  Madonna  di  Cardinello  the  little  St. 
John  presents  the  Infant  Jesus  with  a goldfinch 
and  has  his  mouth  half  open  as  if  speaking  to 
him.  La  Belle  Jardineire , as  also  the  one 
Under  the  Palm  Tree , and  others,  present  a 
similar  colloquy.  We  understand  what  natural- 


42 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


ness  and  life  such  a colloquy  adds  to  a scene, 
and  how  it  beautifies  a composition. 

Other  similarities  there  are  which  clearly  be- 
speak the  Raphaelesque  origin  of  this  composi- 
tion. The  Virgin’s  hands  present  similar  designs 
in  the  Bridgewater  Madonna  and  the  Virgin  of 
the  Colonna  family,  Berlin.  The  Child’s  small 
foot  that  appears  from  under  the  garment  can 
be  traced,  so  to  say,  through  all  his  Madonnas. 
So  also  is  the  fold  on  the  Child’s  right  arm 
peculiar  to  Raphael  and  very  common  in  bis 
later  works.  The  Virgin’s  veil  and  draperies, 
the  right  knee  coming  out  so  distinctly,  the  very 
colors,  red,  green  and  blue,  can  be  traced  in 
most  of  his  paintings. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Proofs  of  Authenticity.  (B)  Raphael’s 
Technique. 

Other  proofs  there  are  which  strengthen  our 
belief  that  the  Boston  picture  is  by  the  divine 
Sanzio,  his  technique,  namely,  and  his  signatures. 

Raphael  took  such  elaborate  care  in  painting 
either  on  panel  or  on  canvas  that  he  seems  only 
to  begin  where  othe^r  masters  even  of  the  Italian 
and  Flemish  schools  would  have  stopped  their 
work.  Thus  he  effected  that  marvelous  blending 
of  colors  which  is  so  much  admired,  those  natural 
flesh  tints  in  which  life  seems  to  pulsate.  Some 
authors  prefer  Titian  and  Correggio  to  him  as 
colorists.  The  fact  is,  that  with  Raphael  color- 
ing is  never  the  end,  but  the  means  to  the  end. 
He  wants  to  tell  us  a story,  to  represent  a scene, 
to  give  flesh  and  blood  to  some  idea.  He  is 
reason  itself,  the  most  classical  of  all  painters. 
But  when  coloring  is  to  bring  out  his  full  idea,  he 
is  the  greatest  of  colorists.  Never  did  any  one 
give  those  flesh  tints,  that  roseate  hue  which  is 


44 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


so  lifelike.  This  delicacy  of  touch  is  peculiar  to 
Raphael  and  at  once  impresses  the  art  student 
who  contemplates  one  of  his  paintings. 

Those  who  have  admired  his  works  abroad 
recognize  at  once  in  the  Boston  painting  one  of 
his  most  important  works.  Already,  Raphael 
Mengs,  who  gazed  on  the  picture  while  it  was  in 
the  Escurial,  in  Madrid,  expresses  himself  about 
it  in  words  of  the  highest  praise:  uLa  testa  della 
Madonna  in  particolare  e tutta  sua,  ed  e pieno 
di  vita  e d’espressione.  E’  finalmente  parragon- 
abile  cun  qualeeumque  altra  delle  sue  megliori 
Opere.”  (1) 

The  colors  are  nearly  as  fresh  as  on  the  day 
Raphael  put  the  finishing  touches  to  the  painting. 
This  feature  comes  from  the  fact  that  the  laying 
on  of  pigment  took  from  four  to  five  years,  as  we 
shall  see  later  when  giving  the  history  of  the* 
painting,  one  coat  being  thoroughly  dry  before 
new  pigment  was  added  to  it.  Certain  visitors 
at  the  studio,  who  may  pass  for  experts  regard- 
ing pigment,  saw  in  the  translucent  white  gar- 
ments of  the  Child,  in  the  blue  tints  of  the 
Virgin’s  mantle,  a perfection  of  coloring  identical 
with  that  of  the  Sistine  Madonna  in  Dresden, 
and  the  Virgin  of  the  Chair  in  Florence.  Red 
green  and  blue,  and  a white  peculiar  to  Raphael, 

(1)  Opera  di  Antonio  Raffaelo  Mengs,  1.  c.,  page  175. 


FLORENCE,  PITTI  GALLERY 

MADONNA  DELLA  SEDIA 


RAPHAEL 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


45 


are  the  colors  which  reappear  in  his  Madonnas; 
so,  also,  in  the  Boston  painting. 

Even  the  way  in  which  a master’s  colors  are 
cracking  has  been  pointed  out  as  a proof  of 
authenticity  for  this  picture.  In  Raphael’s 
time,  at  the  height  of  the  Renaissance  period, 
the  art  of  painting  reached  its  climax,  and  never 
was  similar  care  taken  in  preparing  a canvas  or 
panel  and  in  pounding  and  mixing  the  colors; 
never  did  artists  spend  so  much  time  on  the  same 
picture.  It  took  Leonardo  da  Vinci  four  years 
to  paint  his  Mona  Lisa.  This  explains  how  a 
number  of  paintings  dating  from  that  period 
keep  the  brilliancy  of  the  day  on  which  the 
masters  made  the  finishing  touches. 

Experts  tell  us  that  the  paintings  of  the  same 
master  present  similar  processes  of  contraction 
of  the  colors.  After  four  hundred  years  those 
marks  of  deterioration  are  hardly  noticeable  on 
most  paintings  of  the  Renaissance  period.  The 
art  of  photography  reveals  them,  or  a powerful 
magnifying  glass.  The  colors  being  the  same, 
laid  on  in  the  same  way,  the  same  brushwork, 
through  some  kind  of  chemical  process,  after 
a number  of  years  present  the  same  mode  of 
cracking.  The  Boston  painting,  enlarged  by 
photography,  is  said  to  present  the  same  mode 
of  cracking  as  other  works  by  Raphael. 


50 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


a prominent  form,  with  such  science  that 
with  four  strokes  of  the  brush  he  would 
give  the  promise  of  a beautiful  figure.’  These 
‘precious  foundations’  being  laid  in  would  be 
turned  to  the  wall,  and  left  there  often  for  some 
months  without  his  ever  looking  at  them.  They 
would  then  be  brought  out  one  by  one  and  sub- 
jected to  the  most  rigorous  scrutiny,  ‘as  if  they 
were  the  face  of  his  most  mortal  enemy.’  Where 
any  defect  or  redundancy  appeared,  he  would 
deal  with  the  case  like  skillful  surgeon — prun- 
ing away  excrescences,  resetting  an  arm,  twisting 
a foot  round  into  its  proper  place,  regardless  of 
pain  to  the  patient.  This  would  then  be  put 
aside  to  dry  and  another  canvas  would  pass 
under  the  knife,  till  ‘little  by  little  he  would  have 
covered  with  real  living  flesh  these  first  brief 
abstracts  of  his  intention.’  When  it  came  to 
‘delicate  flavorings’  in  the  shape  of  retouches, 
he  would  go  over  the  work  here  with  a dab  of 
the  thumb  in  the  high  lights  (which  he  would 
thus  model  off  into  the  half  tints),  and  there 
with  a simple  streak  of  the  finger  that  dashed  a 
spot  of  dark  into  some  corner  to  heighten  the 
effect,  or  else  some  blood-drop  of  crimson  to 
vivify  a surface.  ‘In  this  way  he  would  go  on 
and  on,  bringing  up  gradually  to  perfection  his 
lifelike  figures  ....  and  in  the  finishing 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


51 


process  he  really  painted  more  with  his  finger 
than  with  the  brush.’  (1) 

“Here  we  have  no  careful  preparation  with 
crayon  work,  but  a thick  impasto,  over  which 
the  pigment  is  extended.  Raphael  certainly 
never  uses  his  finger  to  put  the  finishing  touches, 
but  he  passes  from  one  tint  to  another  so  care- 
fully that  we  hardly  notice  in  what  direction  the 
brush  goes.  This  can  be  said  of  Correggio,  too. 
His  coloring  is  smooth  and  careful,  though  his 
process  is  again  altogether  different  from  that 
of  Raphael.  Sir  Charles  Eastlake  remarks  that 
Correggio  ‘began  his  flesh  color  on  a compara- 
tively colorless,  and  sometimes  even  cold  scale, 
as  compared  with  the  glow  of  his  finished 
works.’  ” The  shading  of  his  flesh  work  is  not 
laid  in  beforehand  with  crayon  work,  but  he 
uses  “a  transparent  rubbing  of  gray  over  pearly 
flesh.”  It  ‘‘conveys  exactly  the  impression  of  a 
shade  superimposed  on  the  skin,  which  retains  its 
potential  brightness  below.”  (2) 

As  certain  copyists,  with  the  carelessness 
proper  to  their  time,  attribute  the  original  to 
Murillo,  let  us  here  correct  their  error.  Haquin 
is  authority  again  that  Murillo  followed  in  his 

(1)  The  Fine  Arts,  by  G.  Baldwin  Brown,  New  York, 
1891,  page  312. 

(2)  lb.  page  311. 


52 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


technique  the  Spanish  manner  of  preparing  the 
canvas,  and  of  painting:  “Mr.  Haquin  observed 
that  Murillo  and  Velasquez  have  painted  their 
pictures  upon  the  red,  earthy  preparations 
with  which  the  Spanish  canvas  has  almost 
uniformly  been  charged,  and  which  hides  their 
first  process.”  (1) 

We  can  plainly  see  the  painter’s  first  process  on 
the  Boston  painting.  There  is  nothing  of  a red, 
earthy  preparation  visible  on  it,  but  it  is  Ra- 
phael’s mode  of  coating  the  canvas,  as  the  bits 
covering  the  straining  boards  plainly  show. 
From  the  point  of  view  of  the  technique  peculiar 
to  each  one  of  the  two  masters,  the  Boston 
Madonna  has  to  be  attributed  to  Raphael.  So 
also  with  regard  to  the  canvas  itself.  The 
Spanish  canvas  used  was  rather  coarse.  Raphael 
has  relatively  few  paintings  executed  on  canvas, 
he  used  mostly  wood  for  his  easel  paintings. 
But  for  this  Madonna,  as  we  shall  later  see  in 
our  history  of  the  painting,  Isabella  d’Este  sent 
a special  envoy  from  Mantua  to  Rome  with 
certain  instructions,  and  with  the  very  canvas 
on  which  she  wished  the  Madonna  to  be  painted. 

If  we  now  compare  the  composition  with  that 
of  Murillo’s  we  find  that  the  Spanish  painter’s 
conception  of  the  Virgin  was  altogether  dif- 

(1)  lb.  page  343. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


53 


ferent  from  that  of  the  Urbinate.  He  likes  to 
represent  Mary  carried  on  heavenly  clouds, 
surrounded  by  angels,  her  eyes  lifted  towards 
heaven;  while  in  Raphael’s  Madonnas  the  Virgin 
is  always  represented  with  downcast  eyes. 
Kugler  (1)  calls  our  attention  to  the  fact  that 
Murillo  has  two  ways  of  representing  the  Ma- 
donna— either  she  is  carried  on  clouds,  her  eyes 
raised  to  heaven,  surrounded  by  angels;  or,  with 
the  Child  on  her  lap,  of  quite  domestic  character, 
the  Child  full  of  the  joy  of  life.  In  both  cases 
the  Madonna  represents  a portrait  face,  copied 
from  a model ; not  an  ideal  conception,  as  Raphael 
paints  her.  Kugler  mentions  one  exception, 
“the  famous  Madonna  Leuchtenberg ; the  expres- 
sion of  the  Madonna  is  lovely  and  full  of  devotion, 
while  the  Child  is  draped  and  in  prayer.” 

This  “one  exception,”  the  Madonna  Leuchten- 
berg, as  we  shall  see  later  on,  is  precisely  a copy 
of  the  Boston  painting,  in  Kugler’s  time  still 
attributed  to  Murillo,  but  now  no  longer  ascribed 
to  the  Spanish  painter. 

So  we  see  how  different  the  composition  is  from 
That  of  Raphael.  In  coloring,  too,  there  is  all 
the  difference  in  the  world,  as  also  in  the  folds. 
Besides,  as  we  shall  now  see,  the  date,  inter- 

(1)  Kugler,  Handbuch  der  Geschichte  der  Malerei, 
vol.  iii,  page  116. 


54 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


woven  in  the  Virgin’s  veil  when  the  painting 
was  delivered,  is  1520,  and  Murillo  was  born  in 


1617. 


FLORENCE,  PITTI  GALLERY  RAPHAEL 

MADONNA  DEL  GRANDUCA 


CHAPTER  V. 


Proofs  of  Authenticity.  (C)  Signatures. 

There  are  yet  other  indications  which  point 
directly  to  Raphael  as  author  of  this  painting, 
viz.,  the  different  signatures.  “It  was  not  cus- 
tomary with  the  old  masters  to  sign  their  paint- 
ings. The  appreciation  of  their  contemporaries 
was  all  they  desired.  Art  and  masters  were 
highly  considered  in  those  days.  Few,  therefore, 
signed  their  paintings,  especially  in  Germany 
and  the  Netherlands.  In  Italy,  on  the  contrary, 
during  the  Middle  Ages  and  the  Renaissance 
period,  signatures  were  more  frequent.  During 
the  fifteenth  century  some  engravers  began  to 
sign  their  works  with  their  initials  or  with  a 
monogram.  At  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century 
this  custom  was  prevalent  everywhere,  among 
painters  and  draftsmen.  This  monogram  was 
composed  of  the  initials  of  the  name  and  birth- 
place interwoven  into  one  sign.  During  the 
seventeenth  century  the  painters  adopted  uni- 
versally the  custom  of  signing  their  works  with 
their  full  name."  (1) 

(1)  Nagler,  Monogrammisten,  vol.  i,  page  3,  Munich, 
1858. 


56 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


Raphael,  too,  used  monograms.  According  to 
Ris-Paquot,  (1)  his  own  initials — “R.  S.” 
(Raphael  Santi)  with  that  of  his  birthplace,  “U” 
(Urbinas) — are  found  interwoven  in  signs  of 
different  forms.  Such  signs  exist  on  a great 
number  of  his  paintings,  but  until  lately  had 
been  overlooked  by  most  authors.  If  discovered 
on  pictures  whose  origin  by  Raphael  is  contested, 
they  form  a strong  proof  of  authenticity.  Ra- 
phael always  inscribed  his  monogram  on  a con- 
spicuous part  of  the  painting;  in  portraits, 
mostly  on  the  headgear. 

There  are  several  portraits  of  Pope  Julius  II 
extant,  of  which  two  are  well  known.  They  were 
exhibited  respectively  in  the  Pitti  gallery  and 
in  that  of  the  Offices  in  Florence.  “As  for  the 
original,  it  is  certain,  at  least  to  connoisseurs, 
that  it  is  in  the  Pitti;  in  both  drawing  and 
modeling  it  is  superior  to  any  of  its  rivals.” 
This  judgment  by  Passavant  was  universally 
received  as  the  correct  one  for  a number  of  years, 
from  1840  to  1880.  Then  some  connoisseurs 
thought  the  one  of  the  Offices  might  be  the 
original  by  Raphael.  Muntz,  comparing  the 
opinion  of  critics  to  the  fluctuations  of  fashion, 
points  out  here  the  fallacy  of  expertise.  If 

(1)  Dictionnaire  encyclopediques  des  marques  et  mono- 
grammes, 9181-9183. 


Raphael’s  Hadonna  Gonzaga 


57 


we  examine  both  portraits  closely,  we  find  some 
folds  in  the  headgear  of  the  portrait  belonging  to 
the  Pitti  gallery,  Raphael’s  monogram,  while 
they  do  not  exist  on  the  other  picture.  So, 
after  all,  Passavant’s  opinion  was  most  probably 
the  correct  one. 

The  same  remark  can  be  made  with  regard  to 
the  portrait  of  Cardinal  Inghirami.  Two  speci- 
mens of  the  portrait  of  this  Roman  dignitary 
exist,  one  in  the  gallery  of  the  Offices  in  Florence, 
the  other  in  Mrs.  Gardner’s  Collection,  Boston. 
At  one  time  the  painting  in  Florence  was  sup- 
posed to  be  the  original  by  Raphael,  while  the 
other  was  looked  upon  as  a copy.  Here,  however, 
the  critics  again  reversed  their  judgment,  and 
now  pronounce  the  painting  in  the  Boston  Col- 
lection to  be  by  Raphael,  while  the  one  in 
Florence  is  supposed  to  be  the  copy.  Indeed, 
if  we  examine  both,  we  find  the  same  sort  of 
monogram  in  the  headgear  of  the  Cardinal  in 
Mrs.  Gardner’s  painting,  while  it  is  lacking  in 
the  Florence  portrait. 

On  the  Boston  Madonna  there  is  a monogram 
giving  the  three  letters  “R.  S.  U.”  on  the 
Virgin’s  garments,  close  to  the  Child’s  hands. 
It  can  be  noticed  even  on  small  photographs 
of  the  painting.  It  is  crayon  work  covered  with 
pigment.  The  copyists  noticed  these  folds  and 


58 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


rendered  them  in  a way  which  shows  their  utter 
ignorance  of  their  significance.  These  folds, 
indeed,  mean  nothing  less  than  that  they  are  a 
monogram  by  which  Raphael  signed  the  painti- 
ing  as  his  own  work. 

Raphael  had  a second  way  of  signing  his 
paintings,  viz.,  his  full  name,  “RAPHAEL  UR- 
BINAS.” Such  is  the  case  with  the  large  Ma- 
donna painted  in  1518  for  Francis  I,  a school 
work  in  which  Dollmayr  finds  the  combined  work 
of  Penni  and  Giulio  Romano.  We  read  on  it  in 
full  letters  the  inscription  “RAPHAEL  URBI- 
NAS PINGEBAT,  MDXVIII.”  The  same 
signature  is  on  his  “St.  Michael  Slaying  the 
Dragon,”  dating  from  the  same  time. 

This  signature  seems  to  exist  on  the  Boston 
painting,  too.  In  large  negatives  taken  of  a 
part  of  the  Virgin’s  veil  some  letters  appear, 
“RA”  and  “U”,  the  same  Latin  letters  he  used 
on  other  inscriptions,  written  with  black  crayon 
on  the  composition  covering  the  canvas,  and 
hidden  entirely  under  the  pigment.  If  the  paint- 
ing is  ever  transferred  to  other  canvas,  the 
expert  who  will  do  the  work  probably  will  read 
Raphael’s  name  in  full. 

Suppose  the  painting  to  be  a copy  or  a fraud, 
would  the  copyist  have  thus  hidden  the  name 
under  the  pigment,  or  would  he  not  rather 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


59 


have  inscribed  it  in  a conspicuous  part  of  the 
painting? 

A third  signature  peculiar  to  Raphael  was  the 
date  on  which  the  painting  was  ready  for  de- 
livery. These  figures  are  found  on  the  edge  of  a 
shield,  on  the  hem  of  a garment,  and  do  not 
easily  draw  the  attention  of  the  beholder. 

In  the  Friedrich  Museum,  in  Berlin,  there  is  a 
Madonna  by  Raphael,  known  under  the  name  of 
‘‘Madonna  della  Casa  Colonna,”  bought  in 
1827  from  the  family  Sante.  It  is  looked  upon 
as  an  unfinished  work  of  the  great  master;  still 
the  date  1507  is  written  on  the  hem  of  the  Virgin’s 
garment.  The  “Madonna  Ansidei,”  so  called 
from  John  Ansidei  who  ordered  the  painting  from 
Raphael,  and  now  kept  in  the  National  Gallery, 
London,  is  dated  1505.  The  large  “Madonna 
Cowper”  is  signed  1508,  the  “Belle  Jardiniere,” 
1507,  etc. 

The  Boston  Madonna  is  marked  1520,  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  Virgin’s  veil.  Those  figures 
also  are  written  in  black  crayon  and  covered 
with  a fine  glaze;  they  are  so  interwoven  with 
the  veil  that  they  seem  to  be  simply  shadings. 
This  date  marks  our  Madonna  as  the  last  work  of 
the  divine  Sanzio,  who  died  that  same  year,  1520, 
in  the  beginning  of  April.  It  is,  no  doubt,  that 
Madonna  which  Balthazzare  Castiglione  took 


60 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


to  Mantua  at  the  end  of  1520:  “un  quadro  d’una 
nostra  donna  di  man  di  Raffaelo,”  as  we  shall 
see  later  on.  This  Madonna  never  has  been 
identified.  The  Transfiguration  and  the  Boston 
Madonna  thus  share  the  honor  of  being  the  last 
paintings  by  the  divine  Sanzio,  “le  chant  du 
cygne,”  if  we  may  use  this  expression  of  the 
most  powerful  genius  that  ever  appeared  in  the 
annals  of  art. 

The  visitor  who  has  passed  some  time  before 
this  painting  absorbing  its  beauties,  and  after- 
wards passes  through  galleries  where  paintings 
from  the  brushes  of  other  masters  both  ancient 
and  modern  are  on  exhibition,  will  be  sure  to 
return  with  the  conviction  that  this  painting 
surpasses  in  beauty  all  those  he  has  seen. 

A picture  of  the  Madonna,  attributed  to  Luini, 
which  was  acquired  in  the  Lambert  sale  a few 
months  ago  by  the  Brooklyn  Institute  of  Fine 
Arts,  has  attracted  much  attention,  and  de- 
servedly so,  for  it  is  undoubtedly  the  gem  of  the 
Museum.  Yet  this  picture  does  not  create  so 
great  an  impression  as  does  the  Madonna 
Gonzaga.  Its  reputed  author  is  not  inaptly 
called  the  “Raphael  of  Lombardy.” 

On  entering  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of 
Fine  Arts  in  New  York,  our  gaze  at  once  rests 
upon  a painting  of  the  Madonna  exhibited  above 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga' 


61 


the  landing  of  the  large  staircase  leading  up  to 
the  gallery  of  paintings.  It  is  the  famous 
Madonna  of  the  Colonna  family  mentioned 
above  and  presented  to  the  Museum  through 
the  munificence  of  Mr.  Pierpont  Morgan.  It 
belongs  to  the  Umbrian  time  of  Raphael  and  is 
therefore  one  of  his  early  works  and  of  undoubted 
authenticity.  The  one  who  first  makes  a careful 
study  of  the  Madonna  Gonzaga  and  then  scru- 
tinizes the  Madonna  Colonna,  can  trace  the 
progress  of  the  master  during  the  last  fifteen 
years  of  his  life,— from  the  day  he  returned 
from  Florence  to  Perugia  to  add  the  two  figures 
of  the  apostles  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  to  that 
moment  when  struck  down  with  a fever,  he 
dropped  his  brush  never  to  take  it  up  again. 
The  expressions  of  the  Madonna  Gonzaga 
are  far  superior  to  those  in  the  New  York 
painting.  The  blending  of  colors  is  softer,  par- 
ticularly of  the  flesh  tints,  and  the  draftsmanship 
finer;  the  pencil  marks  are  more  regular,  the  tone 
is  brighter  and  the  poses  are  more  natural.  In 
fine,  the  comparison  between  the  two  paintings 
discloses  the  same  master  strokes,  the  same 
coloring  and  technique,  and  demonstrates  the 
progress  Raphael  made  in  the  years  which 
intervened  between  the  Umbrian  and  Roman 
periods  of  his  career.  Indeed  one  who  is  a fre- 


62 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


quent  beholder  of  the  Madonna  Gonzaga  ex- 
periences a certain  disappointment  when  seeing 
the  Madonna  Colonna.  And  yet,  beyond  doubt 
both  pictures  contain  the  same  types. 

These  two  types  in  the  Madonna  Gonzaga 
are  Raphaelesque  and  can  be  traced  through  the 
forty  and  some  odd  paintings  of  the  Madonna 
which  are  either  his  own  productions  or  belong 
to  the  school  he  inaugurated,  and  through  a 
still  greater  number  of  drawings,  which  are 
studies  for  the  same  paintings.  To  enter  into 
detail,  the  Virgin,  has  for  instance,  her  eyes  cast 
down,  a feature  common  in  Perugino’s  school 
but  more  common  still  in  Raphael’s  paintings. 
She  has  uncommonly  large  hands,  another 
feature  in  which  the  pupil  imitated  his  master 
and  finally  she  has  the  heavy  eyelid,  “which  is  a 
characteristic  of  the  Madonnas  of  Raffaele — the 
‘santo,  onesto  e grave  ciglio’  (the  holy,  honest 
and  sad  eyelids!”  (l) 

In  many  Madonnas  by  Raphael  the  arch  over 
the  eyelid  is  hardly  visible.  According  to 
Castiglione’s  Cortegiano  it  was  customary  with 
Italian  ladies  of  his  time  to  remove  the  hair  of 
their  eyebrows  and  foreheads  In  the  Madonna 
Gonzaga  the  arches  over  the  Virgin’s  eyes  are 
very  slight  and  scarcely  visible.  Let  it  be  also 

(1)  The  paintings  of  Florence,  by  Karl  Karoly,  page  78. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


68 


noted  here,  that  in  his  four  last  Madonnas  the 
head  of  the  Virgin  is  turned  to  the  same  side  as 
in  the  Madonna  Gonzaga. 

The  pose  of  the  Child  in  the  Mother’s  arms 
can  be  followed  through  several  paintings,  the 
Child’s  foot  coming  near  the  Mother’s  hand 
till  in  this  last  Madonna  of  his,  it  rests  lightly 
upon  her  wrist.  That  is  about  the  only  original 
feature  of  the  painting,  all  other  details  of  the 
composition  being  found  in  the  previous  work 
of  Sanzio. 

Both  the  Child’s  hands  and  His  one  visible 
foot  are  designed  with  the  greatest  care  and  they 
have  the  same  kind  of  lines  as  those  that  appear 
in  the  Child  of  his  later  Madonnas. 

The  Virgin’s  hands  are  so  to  say  identically 
the  same  as  on  other  Madonnas  though  a little 
out  of  proportion,  reminding  us  of  the  school 
where  Raphael  received  his  training.  The 
Child’s  hair  is  parted  in  the  middle  as  we  find 
it  on  most  of  his  children’s  heads.  Thus  we 
find  the  same  arrangement  in  the  Madonna 
della  Tenda,  the  Madonna  Aldobrandini,  the 
small  Cowper  or  Panshanger  Madonna  now  in 
Philadelphia.  Let  us  note  too  that  the  hair 
is  arranged  with  greater  care  than  on  any  of 
his  other  paintings,  thus  imparting  special 
beauty  to  the  Madonna  Gonzaga. 


64 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


The  idea  of  colloquy  is  brought  out  in  Ra- 
phael’s scenes  and  constitute  with  the  gestures 
and  poses  the  action  of  the  compostition.  In 
the  Madonna  Gonzaga  the  action  is  quiet  and 
the  idea  of  colloquy  is  indicated  by  the  parted 
lips  of  the  Child  and  the  listening  attitude  of 
the  Mother. 

The  work  on  this  painting  was  begun  at  the 
time  Raphael  had  started  two  similar  composi- 
tions, the  Madonna  of  the  Chair  and  the  Madonna 
della  Tenda.  In  all  three,  we  find  the  same 
poses,  the  same  oval  of  light,  though  less  perfect 
on  the  two  latter  works,  the  same  three  rays 
of  light  beaming  from  Dehind  the  Cnild’s  head. 

In  the  Madonna  Gonzaga  the  veil  is  trans- 
parent, covering,  but  not  concealing  the  hair 
and  part  of  the  forehead;  which  is  the  case  also 
with  regard  to  the  Madonna  della  Tenda,  the 
Madonna  del  Granduca,  the  Madonna  of  the 
House  of  Orleans  and  the  Madonna  under  the 
Palm  Tree. 

The  garments  in  the  Madonna  Gonzaga  are 
painted  in  the  colors  we  meet  so  frequently  in 
both  Raphael’s  frescoes  and  paintings,  red, 
blue,  green  and  white,  symbolizing  the  four 
elements.  Those  four  colors  give  to  the  paint- 
ing the  tone  we  expect  to  find  in  important 
works  of  his.  Raphaelesque  above  all  is  the 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


65 


marvelous  blending  of  the  flesh  tints  peculiar 
to  the  great  master.  The  Virgin’s  head  is  painted 
with  the  greatest  of  care,  in  the  softest  of 
tones.  It  is  we  would  like  to  say,  Raphael’s 
masterpiece. 

If  Giulio  Romano  gives  too  much  prominence 
to  the  red  color  in  rendering  a complexion,  and 
his  brush  work  is  irregular,  the  same  cannot 
be  said  of  his  master.  The  one  who  scrutinized 
other  works  by  Raphael  and  is  familiar  with: 
his  tones,  in  presence  of  the  Madonna  Gonzaga 
at  once  recognizes  the  soft  blending  tones 
peculiar  to  the  great  Renaissance  painter. 

The  folds  on  the  garment  of  this  painting: 
bear  testimony  to  its  Raphaelesque  origin.. 
They  are  the  same  garments,  with  the  identical 
colors  and  folds,  as  we  find  in  the  other  paintings 
of  the  Madonna  by  the  divine  Sanzio.  Here  we 
have  the  blue  mantle  of  the  Madonna  Ansidei, 
of  the  Madonna  del  Cardinello,  of  the  Bridge- 
water  Madonna,  of  the  “Belle  Jardiniere,’’  of 
the  Madonna  da  Foligno,  of  the  Madonna  della 
Tenda,  of  the  Sistine,  of  the  Madonna  di  Casa 
Tempi,  the  Madonna  Terranuova  and  o the 
Madonna  di  Casa  Colonna,  etc.  In  all  the 
paintings  just  mentioned  the  blue  mantle  covers 
a red  garment  as  in  the  Madonna  Gonzaga. 
Thus  we  find  the  same  blue  mantle  covering 


66 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


the  left  shoulder  in  the  Madonna  della  Tenda, 
in  the  Madonna  Terranuova,  in  the  Bridge- 
water  Madonna,  with  this  difference,  that  in 
the  Madonna  Gonzaga  the  blue  mantle  is  grace- 
fully lined  with  green.  In  the  Madonna  del 
Cardinello,  the  “Belle  Jardiniere,”  the  Madonna 
di  Casa  Colonna  the  blue  mantle  covers  the  right 
shoulder,  while  in  the  Madonna  Gonzaga  it  covers 
both  shoulders  the  right  being  hidden  behind  the 
Child.  In  the  Madonna  di  Casa  Colonna,  of 
the  Goldfinch  and  the  Bridgewater  Madonna, 
a bit  of  red  appears  in  graceful  folds  over  the 
Virgin’s  wrist,  as  in  the  Madonna  Gonzaga. 

The  folds  are  important  in  identifying  a 
painting:  The  same  master  reproduces  again 
and  again  the  same  planes.  Ribera’s  folds  are 
triangular,  showing  many  acute  and  obtuse 
angles.  Raphael  has  often  the  rectangular 
plane,  two  parallel  folds  crossed  by  a third  one 
at  right  angles.  This  feature  is  twice  seen  on  the 
Virgin’s  left  arm  in  the  Madonna  Gonzaga, 
on  the  blue  mantle  just  below  the  green  lining. 
That  same  fold  is  seen  on  St.  Elizabeth’s  arm  in 
the  “Small  Holy  Family”  of  the  Louvre,  again 
on  St.  Elizabeth’s  arm  in  the  Visitation  of  the 
Prado,  on  St.  Peter’s  arm  in  the  cartoon,  “The 
Healing  of  the  Lame  Man;”  on  St.  Peter  in  the 
cartoon,  “The  Charge  to  Peter.” 


DRESDEN 


ST.  BARBARA 


RAPHAEL 


DETAIL  FROM  SISTINE  MADONNA 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


67 


Sometimes  two  parallel  folds  meet  two  other 
parallels,  thus  forming  a nearly  regular  geometri- 
cal figure  with  right  or  obtuse  and  acute  angles. 
Such  a formation  is  found  on  the  arm  of  the 
Virgin  in  the  Madonna  Gonzaga,  as  also  on  the 
arm  of  the  Virgin  in  the  Madonna  with  the 
Chandeliers.  A notable  instance  of  the  figure  is 
seen  on  Tobias’s  garment,  to  the  left  of  the 
angel’s  , right  hand  in  the  Madonna  with  the 
Fish;  it  is  similar  to  the  one  in  the  Madonna 
Gonzaga  just  mentioned. 

The  critic  sees  in  the  folds  indubitable  traces 
of  Raphael’s  progress  in  his  art.  In  his  first 
attempts  they  are  stiff  and  metallic,  like  those 
of  his  master  Perugino  or,  his  rival  and  bitter 
enemy,  Sebastian  del  Piombo.  In  his  earlier 
paintings  of  the  Madonna,  the  sleeve  fits  tight 
on  the  arm  and  therefore  shows  few  folds;  later 
on  he  enlarges  it  and  it  encircles  the  wrist  in 
beautifully  folded  draperies.  There  is  one  fold 
he  reproduces,  again  and  again,  in  his  later  work. 
It  is  the  one  on  the  Child’s  arm  in  the  Madonna 
Gonzaga.  The  sleeve  is  turned  back  and  folded 
into  irregular  formations,  presenting  a most 
diversified  aspect.  Thus  we  find  it  in  the  Sistine 
on  St.  Barbara,  in  the  Madonna  della  Sedia  on 
the  left  arm  of  the  Child;  again  twice  on  the 
figure  of  our  Lord  in  the  Transfiguration,  on 


68 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


three  more  figures  of  the  same  painting,  on  all 
representations  of  the  Creator  in  the  Loggia 
of  the  Vatican,  also  in  the  cartoons,  in  one  word 
in  many  works  of  his  Roman  period.  That 
graceful  fold  in  the  Madonna  Gonzaga  is  again 
an  additional  proof  that  our  painting  is  one  of 
his  latest  productions. 

Raphael  took  painstaking  care  in  the  drawing 
of  his  folds;  they  are  both  natural  and  graceful 
and  are  without  - parallel  in  the  works  of  other 
painters.  In  his  drawings  he  represents  the 
same  figure  in  various  poses  to  find  out  which 
attitude  would  give  him  the  most  beautiful 
folds.  He  allows  the  large  planes  of  the  body  to 
be  suggested  by  the  folds.  Murillo’s  folds  are 
heavy,  and  show  that  they  were  designed  to  fill 
up  space,  with  no  regard  to  the  anatomy  of  the 
body  while  Raphael’s  folds  are  true  to  anatom- 
ical structure.  All  his  Madonnas  have  one 
point  in  common;  the  outstanding  knee  with 
the  same  folds;  we  notice  this  feature  in  the 
Madonna  Gonzaga  as  in  all  those  paintings 
of  the  Madonna  in  which  the  Virgin  is  in 
a sitting  position.  Peculiar  to  his  Roman 
period,  we  might  say,  are  the  rich  folds  over 
the  Virgin’s  forearms,  as  we  see  them  in 
the  Madonna  Gonzaga;  the  folds  on  her  right 
forearm  bear  a close  resemblance  to  those 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


69 


of  St.  Margaret  which  was  painted  about  1518; 
the  folds  on  her  left  forearm  are  frequently 
repeated  in  Raphael’s  work. 

It  is  these  minute  details  which  furnish  a key 
to  the  productions  of  the  Roman  period,  the 
technique  of  the  painting  is  the  one  which  he 
followed  throughout.  Although  the  literature 
on  Sanzio  is  very  rich,  the  best  authors  give  few 
or  no  details  on  his  technique.  If  his  technique 
were  better  known,  there  would  be  little  difficulty 
in  distinguishing  his  originals  from  copies  of 
them  by  other  masters.  There  are  portraits 
and  Madonnas  by  him  existing  in  so  called 
replicas.  Which  is  the  original?  Which  the 
copy?  Adhuc  sub  judice  lis  est. 

The  most  reliable  authorities  on  Raphael’s 
technique  are  those  experts  who  transferred 
paintings  of  his  from  panel  on  canvas.  That 
happened  subsequently  to  the  French  Revolu- 
tion at  which  time  a number  of  works  by  Sanzio 
had  been  brought  to  Paris  fromdifferentcountries. 
They  made,  so  to  say,  an  autopsy  of  Raphael’s 
paintings,  planing  off  the  wood,  removing  the  coat- 
ing which  covered  the  panels.  They  had  then, 
under  their  very  eyes,  the  first  work  of  the  painting 
which  consisted  in  drawing  the  outlines  and  put- 
ting in  most  of  the  shades  with  black  crayon  before 
the  pigment  was  laid  on.  They  discovered  cor- 


70 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


rections  made  by  Raphael  while  developing  his 
painting.  Thus,  according  to  their  testimony, 
the  arms  of  the  angel  shedding  flowers  in  the  large 
Madonna  of  Francis  I,  were  raised  to  a higher 
level,  the  design  thus  showing  two  pairs  of  arms. 

In  the  Madonna  Gonzaga  we  find  the  technique 
of  Raphael  as  described  by  these  authorities. 
Pencil  marks  can  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye  in 
many  places;  for  instance  between  the  Child’s 
fingers,  around  his  eyes,  and  in  the  oval  of  the 
Virgin’s  face.  Although  this  painting  is  on 
canvas,  Raphael  follows  up  here  his  technique 
as  in  other  paintings.  Few  of  his  productions 
are  on  canvas;  the  St.  John  in  Florence,  the 
Sistine  and  the  Madonna  Gonzaga.  Vasari’s 
statement  that  the  Sistine  was  on  panel  cannot 
be  accepted.  That  the  Madonna  Gonzaga  was 
painted  on  canvas  we  know  from  a letter  by 
Isabella  d’Este,  which  is  still  extant. 

The  argument  drawn  from  Raphael’s  tech- 
nique is  very  strong.  Suppose  the  painting  in 
question  to  be  of  later  date,  it  would  not  have 
those  pencil  marks  under  the  pigment.  We 
know  of  no  later  painter  who  used  identically 
the  technique  of  Raphael,  neither  do  we  know  of 
any  who  succeeded  in  rendering  the  flesh  tints 
as  Raphael  did.  His  simple  colors,  blue,  green 
and  this  translucent  white  of  the  Child’s  garment 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


71 


are  peculiar  to  him.  Suppose  the  painting  to 
be  an  imitation  of  Raphael’s  style,  the  imitator 
would  have  surpassed  Raphael  himself  in  Ra- 
phael’s strongest  points.  Would  the  imitator 
have  concealed  thus  cleverly  a fictitious  date, 
1520,  which  escaped  the  attention  of  all  copyists, 
and  which  is  marked  in  the  manner  Raphael 
signed  his  dates?  Would  he  have  imitated 
Raphael’s  monogram,  as  we  find  it  in  other 
paintings  of  his,  a sign  which  till  now  has  been 
overlooked  ? 

The  technical  proofs  are  corroborated  by  his- 
torical argument.  We  can  show  that  the  last 
painting  of  the  Madonna  by  Raphael  was  com- 
missioned by  Isabella  d’Este  and  brought  to 
Mantua  after  Raphael’s  death.  That  painting 
has  never  been  identified.  We  can  trace  its 
history  till  it  lands  with  other  art  treasures  on  the 
shores  of  America,  where  it  disappears.  Indeed 
there  are  few  paintings  by  Raphael  about  which 
there  are  so  many  documents  extant,  disclosing 
the  origin  and  history  of  the  painting.  The 
Boston  painting  has  all  those  peculiarities  which 
characterize  the  Madonna  Gonzaga.  There  are 
moreover  indications  as  we  follow  up  the  history 
of  the  painting,  that  the  Madonna  Gonzaga 
and  the  Boston  painting  are  identically  one  and 
the  same  painting. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


History  of  the  Madonna  Gonzaga:  the 
Painting  in  Rome. 

Coming  now  to  the  history  of  the  Boston 
painting,  we  wish  to  state  that  it  would  be  an 
interesting  study  to  note  the  political  upheavals 
which  caused  famous  paintings  to  pass  from  hand 
to  hand.  Political  events  are  far-reaching  in 
the  domain  of  art.  The  disturbances  they 
create  can  be  measured  by  the  number  of  paint- 
ings which  change  ownership  at  the  time  they 
occur.  Take,  for  instance,  the  Revolution  in 
England.  Not  only  did  the  unfortunate  Charles  I 
lose  his  life,  but  his  collection  of  paintings,  the 
choicest  the  world’s  history  knows,  was  scattered 
to  the  four  winds.  The  French  Revolution, 
and,  in  its  wake,  the  wars  under  Napoleon, 
caused  the  masterpieces  of  art  to  be  dragged 
from  one  country  to  another,  some  of  them  to 
be  destroyed  and  others  in  great  number  lost. 

If  we  now  consider  that  many  such  changes 
have  been  brought  about  in  the  four  centuries 
which  separate  us  from  Raphael,  it  is  easy  to 
understand  that  it  is  well  nigh  impossible  to 
trace  all  of  his  pictures  from  one  place  to  another. 


BOSTON,  MRS.  GARDNER  S COLLECTION 

ISABELLA  D’ESTE 


POLIDORO 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


73 


Unless  their  wanderings  were  few,  as  were  those 
of  the  Sistine  Madonna  bought  by  the  Elector 
of  Saxony  from  the  very  monks  by  whom  the 
painting  had  been  ordered,  6r  the  Madonna 
da  Foligno  shipped  to  Paris  in  1798,  and  back  to 
Italy  in  1815,  or  the  “Madonna  diTerranuova,” 
which  remained  in  the  same  family  up  to  the 
time  when  the  Friedrich  Museum  of  Berlin 
bought  it,  most  of  his  best  known  works  disappear 
and  reappear  throughout  the  ages,  and  we  are 
unable  to  obtain  a connected  history  of  their 
changes. 

The  Boston  painting  on  the  contrary  is  of 
such  importance,  even  when  compared  to  other 
works  by  the  divine  Sanzio,  that  documents 
have  been  found  which  disclose  its  transfer 
from  one  country  to  another,  so  that  it  is  a 
relatively  easy  matter  to  trace  its  history. 

It  was  painted  for  Isabella  d’Este.  All  authors 
recognize  her  as  the  greatest  lady  of  the  Renais- 
sance. There  has  seldom  appeared  in  history  a 
woman  with  as  high  intellectual  and  moral 
gifts.  “During  forty  years,”  writes  Julia  Cart- 
wright, “she  played  an  important  part  in  the 
history  of  her  times,  and  made  the  little  court  of 
Mantua  famous  in  the  eyes  of  the  whole  civilized 
world.  The  wisdom  and  sagacity  which  she 
showed  in  political  affairs  commanded  universal 


74 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


respect.  During  the  lifetime  both  of  her  husband 
and  son,  she  was  repeatedly  called  upon  to  ad- 
minister the  government  of  the  state,  and  showed 
a coolness  and  dexterity  in  the  conduct  of  the 
most  difficult  negotiations  that  would  have 
excited  the  admiration  of  Machiavelli  himself. 
By  her  skillful  diplomacy  this  able  woman  saved 
the  little  state  of  Mantua  from  falling  a prey  to 
the  ambitious  designs  of  Caesar  Borgia,  or  the 
vengeance  of  two  powerful  monarchs,  Louis  XII 
and  Francis  I.”  (1)  She  thus  gave  such  stability 
to  the  throne  of  Mantua  that  the  family  of  the 
Gonzagas  occupied  it  for  four  centuries. 

Isabella’s  education  had  been  an  excellent 
one,  and  she  proved  to  be  the  most  accomplished 
lady  at  that  time  of  high  intellectual  culture. 
She  had  entered  so  much  into  the  Humanist 
movement  of  the  day  that  she  found  her  delight 
in  reading  the  Latin  authors  in  the  original 
text.  A hall  recently  decorated  with  Mantegna’s 
pictures  of  the  Triumph  of  Caesar  served  as  a 
theater  in  her  palace.  Here,  (1501)  the  “Adelphi  ” 
of  Terence  and  the  comedies  of  Plautus  were 
played.  Greek  she  had  never  learned,  but  she 
read  those  authors  in  the  Latin  translation. 

It  was  the  period  of  great  discoveries.  Chris- 

(1)  Isabella  d’Este,  by  Julia  Cartwright,  Pref.,  pages 
vii-viii. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


75 


topher  Columbus  had  aroused  Europe  by  his 
repeated  trips  to  the  newly  discovered  continent. 
Changes  had  to  be  made  in  the  map  of  the 
world.  “Isabella’s  correspondence  shows  the 
keen  interest  she  took  in  the  work  of  the  hardy 
explorers  who  roamed  the  sea,  and  at  Mar- 
mirola,  a country  house  of  hers,  she  had  a hall 
in  which  a ‘Mappemunda’  was  drawn  in  char- 
coal,” one  of  the  first  maps  on  which  the  out- 
lines of  America  were  seen.  (1) 

Her  correspondence  is  voluminous.  There  are 
in  the  archives  of  the  Gonzaga  family  more 
than  two  thousand  letters  written  by  her. 
Those  she  sent  to  her  husband  rival  in  affection- 
ate sentiment  and  expressions  of  deep  respect 
the  letters  of  Queen  Louise  of  Prussia  to  her 
royal  consort.  She  was  an  accomplished  musician 
and  the  queen  of  fashion  of  the  day. 

Deeply  religious,  Isabella  was  an  intimate 
friend  of  the  Dominican  Nun,  Osanna  Andreasi, 
who  is  said  to  have  died  in  Mantua  marked 
with  the  stigmata  of  our  Lord.  Isabella  erected 
a monument  in  marble  over  her  tomb  in  the 
church  of  St.  Dominic  and  had  her  picture 
painted  by  Bonsignori.  Three  ladies  of  her  court 
and  Isabella  herself  are  represented  in  religious 
garb,  kneeling  at  the  feet  of  the  saintly  nun. 

(1)  Julia  Cartwright,  1.  c. 


76 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


It  is  above  all  as  a patroness  of  art  and  letters 
that  Isabella  d’Este  will  be  remembered.  In 
this  respect  she  deserves  a place  with  the  most 
enlightened  monarchs  of  the  Renaissance  period. 
It  was  the  golden  age  in  the  history  of  art  when, 
so  to  say,  every  city  of  importance  in  the  Italian 
peninsula  was  the  seat  of  an  independent 
dynasty  ; when  all  the  great  rivalled  one  another 
in  showering  favors  on  famous  painters,  in  draw- 
ing them  to  their  court  and  giving  them  oppor- 
tunities to  found  schools  of  their  own,  to  work 
out  new  ideas;  while  in  this  artists  were  encour- 
aged by  royal  munificence  and  by  visits  of 
king  or  emperor  to  their  studios.  Charles  V 
himself  is  said  to  have  visited  Titian  in  his 
studio  on  his  memorable  trip  to  Italy. 

Isabella  like  all  true  connoisseurs  had  herself 
learned  the  art  of  drawing  and  traced  on  paper 
the  figures  she  wanted  to  have  represented  in 
jewelry.  “She  combined  a passionate  love  of 
beauty  and  the  most  profound  reverence  for 
antiquity,  with  the  finest  critical  taste.  Her 
studios  and  villas  were  adorned  with  the  best 
paintings  and  statues  of  the  first  masters  of  the 
day  and  with  the  rarest  antiques  from  the 
Eternal  City  and  the  Isles  of  Greece. 

“Everything  she  possessed  must  be  of  the 
best  and  she  was  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


77 


perfection.  Even  Mantegna  and  Perugino  some- 
times failed  to  please  her.  She  wrote  endless 
letters  and  gave  the  artists  in  her  employment 
the  most  elaborate  and  minute  instructions. 
Braghirolli  counted  as  many  as  forty  letters  on 
the  subject  of  a single  picture  painted  by 
Giovanni  Bellini  and  no  less  than  fifty-three  on 
a painting  entrusted  to  Perugino. 

“The  works  of  Mantegna  and  Costa,  of 
Giovanni  Bellini  and  Michael  Angelo,  of  Perugino 
and  Correggio  (and,  we  may  add,  at  least  one 
Raphael)  adorned  her  rooms.  Giovanni  Santfi 
Andrea  Mantegna,  Francisco  Francia  and  Lo- 
renzo Costa,  all  in  turn  painted  portraits  of  her, 
which  alas!  perished.  But  her  beautiful  features 
still  live  in  Leonardo’s  perfect  drawing,  in 
Christoforo’s  medal  and  in  Titian’s  great  picture 
at  Vienna.”  (1) 

If  Titian  painted  Isabella  from  a portrait 
dating  from  her  youth,  Polidoro.  Caldara,  (2)  a 
pupil  of  the  divine  Sanzio,  left  us  a portrait  of 
her  in  her  mature  age.  This  painting  is  now  in 
Mrs.  Gardner’s  gallery,  Boston.  Those  fine 
features  reveal  strong  intellectuality  and  a 

(1)  Isabella  d’Este,  by  Julia  Cartwright,  1.  c.,  pages 
viii-ix. 

(2)  Morel  li  has  his  doubts  about  the  existence  of  a 
master  by  that  name.  See  Die  Werke  italicniescher 
Meister,  page  250,  note. 


78 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


profound  artistic  taste.  The  shrewd,  critical 
look  tells  us  what  a fine  judge  of  persons  and 
things  she  was.  She  had  a deep  mind,  and  she 
was  “a  fastidious  and,  at  times,  a severe  critic.” 
The  artists  who  were  honored  with  orders  from 
her  had  to  give  the  best  of  their  talent  to  come 
up  to  her  expectations.  No  wonder  that  her 
gallery  was  looked  upon  as  containing  the  finest 
pictures  in  the  world. 

“Nor  were  poets  and  prose  writers  remiss  in 
paying  her  their  homage.  Paolo  Giovio 
addressed  her  as  the  rarest  of  women;  Bembo 
and  Trissino  celebrated  her  charms  and  virtues 
in  their  sonnets  and  canzoni.  Castiglione  gave 
her  a high  place  in  his  courtly  record,  Ariosto 
paid  her  a magnificent  tribute  in  his  ‘Orlando,’ 
while  endless  were  the  songs  and  lays  which 
minor  bards  offered  at  the  shrine  of  this  peerless 
Marchesa,  whom  they  justly  called  the  foremost 
lady  in  the  world: — ‘la  prima  donna  del  mondo,’ 
‘Isabella  d’Este,’  writes  Jacobo  Caviceo,  ‘at 
the  sound  of  whose  name  all  the  Muses  rise  and 
do  reverence.’ 

Such  was  the  eminent  lady  for  whom  our 
Madonna  was  painted.  Being  an  ardent  lover 
of  art  as  well  as  a shrewd  critic,  she  would  quite 
naturally  desire  to  have  a painting  from  the  one 
Isabella  d’  Este,  by  Julia  Cartwright,  1.  c.  pages  ix-x. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


79 


whose  name  was  on  all  lips  as  the  prince  of 
painters,  preferably  one  of  those  Madonnas  for 
which  above  all  he  was  famous.  But  it  should 
not  be  a work  coming  from  the  workshop,  but 
a painting  by  his  own  hands. 

When  did  Isabella  meet  Raphael  for  the  first 
time?  His  father,  Giovanni  Santi,  had  come  to 
Mantua  in  1493  to  paint  a portrait  of  the  young 
Marchioness.  Mantegna  had  won  fame  by  his 
compositions  representing  the  Triumph  of 
Caesar.  The  young  Isabella  d’Este  wanted  to 
send  a portrait  of  herself  to  Isabella  del  Balzo, 
Countess  of  Acerra,  a new  acquaintance  of  hers 
through  the  marriage  of  Gianfrancesco  Gonzaga 
to  Antonia  del  Balzo,  a sister  of  the  countess. 
She  entrusted  the  painting  of  it  to  Mantegna, 
but  his  work  did  not  come  up  to  the  expecta- 
tion of  the  young  Marchesa.  “We  are  much 
vexed,”  she  writes  on  the  twelfth  of  April, 
“that  we  are  unable  to  send  you  our  portrait, 
because  the  painter  has  done  it  so  badly  that  it 
does  not  resemble  us  in  the  very  least.  But  we 
have  sent  for  a foreign  artist  who  has  the  reputa- 
tion of  taking  excellent  likenesses,  and  as  soon  as 
it  is  ready  we  will  send  it  to  your  Highness.” 

The  artist  referred  to  was  Giovanni  Santi, 
known  to  her  through  her  sister-in-law,  the  new 
Duchess  of  Urbino.  He  came  to  Mantua,  but 


80 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


fell  sick  with  a fever  and  returned  to  Urbino, 
from  which  place  the  portrait  in  question  was 
delivered  a few  months  later. 

Did  the  young  Raphael  who  was  at  the  time 
ten  years  old,  accompany  hi  father  to  the  court 
of  Mantua?  Probably  not.  The  young  boy  had 
lost  his  mother  at  the  age  of  eight  years;  his 
father  was  remarried,  and  the  stepmother,  under 
the  watchful  eye  of  his  uncle,  the  priest  Dom 
Bartolomeo,  took  care  of  the  promising  infant. 
We  may  therefore  admit  that  the  Marchesa  met 
Raphael  for  the  first  time  on  her  visit  to  Rome, 
in  1513. 

“Isabella  certainly  met  the  great  master, 
who  was  then  at  the  height  of  his  fame  and 
recently  had  been  appointed  architect  of  St. 
Peter’s  by  the  Pope.  And  as  he  talked  with  her 
of  the  old  days  of  Urbino,  of  his  father,  who  had 
painted  her  portrait,  and  of  his  first  patrons, 
the  good  Duke  and  Duchess,  she  begged  him  with 
a charming  smile  to  paint  a little  Madonna  for 
her  whenever  he  had  a few  spare  moments.  Of 
course  Raphael,  who  was  a ‘gentilezza  stessa,’ 
promised  gladly,  and  then  went  back  to  his 
frescoes  and  buildings  and  his  plans  of  ancient 
Rome,  and  forgot  all  about  the  Marchesa  and 
her  picture.”  (1) 

(1)  lb.  vol.  ii,  page  112. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


81 


This  is  not  quite  so.  We  have  reasons  to  assert 
that  this  order  was  not  given  in  such  a desultory 
fashion.  She  told  him,  as  was  her  custom,  how 
she  wanted  the  painting  to  be  done.  In  her  col- 
lection she  had  a few  paintings  of  the  Madonna 
which  show  how  she  liked  the  Mother  and  Child 
to  be  represented.  They  resemble  in  their  pose 
and  draperies  the  Boston  painting  very  much, 
especially  one,  ordered  in  1481  from  an  artist 
who  did  not  sign  his  painting.  It  is  the  number 
“30”  of  the  catalogue  drawn  up  in  1627  of  the 
Mantua  paintings,  and  is  inscribed  as  “Pittura 
rappresentante  Nostra  Donna  e San  Leonardo 
eseguita  da  artefice  ignoto.” 

We  know  of  no  old  picture  coming  so  near  our 
Madonna  as  this  beautiful  compostion.  The 
Mother  holds  the  Child  in  her  arms  as  in  the 
Boston  painting.  The  Infant  turning  towards 
her  puts  his  two  hands  affectionately  on  the 
Mother’s  cheeks.  He  is  all  draped  and  the  folds 
resemble  those  of  the  Boston  painting.  This  was 
perhaps  an  inspiration  for  Isabella.  She  wanted 
a similar  Madonna  by  the  great  master  with  the 
Child  all  draped;  but  the  rather  familiar  pose 
could  be  rendered  differently  in  Raphael’s 
favorite  manner — the  Child  in  colloquy  with 
the  Mother.  Thus,  it  is  probably  due  to  Isabella 
d’Este  that  we  possess  from  the  great  Raphael 


82 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


a Madonna  which  looks  so  different  from  his 
other  compositions. 

Raphael  was  eager  to  accept  the  idea  of  the 
Marchesa.  He  was  not  only  the  most  accom- 
modating of  artists  towards  his  patrons,  but  also 
the  most  assimilative  of  all  the  painters  we  find 
in  the  history  of  art.  Nobody  ever  succeeded  so 
well  in  making  his  own  the  qualities  discovered 
in  others.  Vasari  says  that  he  had  agents 
throughout  Italy  to  send  him  drawings  of  compo- 
sitions by  other  artists.  “So  comprehensive 
and  extended  were  the  views  of  Raphael  in  all 
things  relating  to  his  works,  that  he  kept  de- 
signers employed  in  all  parts  of  Italy,  at  Puzzuolo 
and  even  in  Greece,  to  the  end  that  he  might 
want  nothing  of  that  which  appertained  to  his 
art,  and  for  this  he  spared  neither  labor  nor 
cost.”  (1)  To  this  power  of  assimilation  is  due 
his  progress  during  his  Florentine  period  after  he 
had  been  in  touch  with  Leonardo  da  Vinci’s 
work.  From  him  he  learned  to  give  his  Ma- 
donnas and  his  Infants  the  mysterious  smile  of 
the  Mona  Lisa.  In  Rome  a glance  at  Michael 
Angelo’s  work  in  the  Sistine  opened  a new 
horizon  to  his  art.  Wherever  he  found  a new 
idea  he  made  it  his  own. 

The  Marchesa  did  not  forget  the  master’s 

(1)  Vasari,  1.  c.,  page  193. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


83 


promise.  She  knew  well  that  kings  and  emperors 
considered  it  a favor  to  obtain  a painting  from 
the  great  master,  and  she  determined  to  insist 
until  she  realized  her  wish,  and  had  her  Madonna 
safe  in  her  apartments.  She  had  friends  in  Rome, 
frequent  visitors  at  Raphael’s  studio,  and  these 
she  charged  to  remind  him  continually  of  his 
promise. 

In  this  connection  we  have  to  mention  the 
courtier  Castiglione,  a gentleman  well  versed  in 
diplomacy  and  literature,  and  a lover  of  art* 
He  was  a warm  friend  of  the  Urbinate,  and  was, 
moreover,  related  to  the  Gonzagas  of  Mantua, 
in  which  city  he  had  a palace.  “ Castiglione  was 
not  only  one  of  the  greatest  poets  of  his  age,  but 
he  was  a very  good  judge  in  matters  of  art.  His 
influence  on  Raphael,  whose  genius  he  was  one 
of  the  first  to  discover,  was  very  great,  and 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  often  pointed  out 
to  him  subjects  which  it  would  be  worth  his 
while  to  treat.”  (1) 

Then  there  was  Agostino  Gonzaga,  a relation 
of  Isabella,  residing  in  Rome.  He  could  be,  so 
to  say,  in  daily  touch  with  Raphael,  and,  more- 
over, he  corresponded  with  Isabella  even  to  her 
last  days. 

After  her  return  to  Mantua  she  begged  Agos- 
tino Gonzaga  to  remind  the  masterof  his  promise. 

(1)  Muntz,  page  282. 


84 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


In  J une,  1515,  Agostino  replied  that  he  had 
spoken  to  Raphael,  who  promised  to  begin  the 
work  shortly.  But  knowing  by  experience  how 
vain  these  assurances  often  proved,  the  Mar- 
chesa  thought  it  well  to  ask  Castiglione’s  help. 
Accordingly,  when  the  Count  came  to  Mantua 
that  summer,  she  begged  him  to  use  his  influence 
with  Raphael  on  her  behalf,  and  on  the  eighth  of 
November  he  wrote  from  Urbino  to  tell  her  of 
his  efforts  in  this  direction. 

“When  I left  Mantua,  your  Excellency  desired 
me  to  induce  Raphael  to  paint  your  picture.  So 
I wrote  to  him  directly  I reached  Urbino,  and  he 
replied  that  he  would  gladly  satisfy  your  wish. 
After  that  I went  to  Rome  and  entreated  him  so 
earnestly  that  he  promised  to  put  aside  all  his 
other  works  to  work  for  your  Highness.  Now 
he  asks  me  to  send  the  measurements  of  the 
picture  and  the  particulars  of  the  lighting,  so 
that  he  may  set  to  work  without  delay.  So,  if 
your  Excellency  will  send  me  these  I will  see  to 
the  rest  and  only  await  your  orders.” 

Isabella  replied  in  the  following  letter: — 

“ Dearest  and  magnificent  Knight, — I have  not 
answered  your  letter  of  the  eighth  before,  as  I 
was  awaiting  a trusted  messenger.  Now  I send 
my  horseman  and  thank  you  warmly  for  your 
kind  offices  with  Raphael  of  Urbino  and  for 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


85 


persuading  him  to  gratify  my  wish.  And  for 
further  execution  of  this  kind  service,  I send  you 
by  my  horseman  the  canvas  for  the  picture, 
together  with  the  measurements  and  lighting, 
which  you  will  forward  to  Raphael,  begging  him 
to  begin  the  work  and  paint  it  at  his  convenience, 
assuring  him  nevertheless,  that  the  sooner  he 
can  serve  me,  the  better  pleased  I shall  be. 
Mantua,  November,  1515.” 

“But  neither  Castiglione’s  power  of  persuasion 
nor  Raphael’s  affection  for  his  friend  could  avail 
anything.  When  the  Count  returned  to  Rome  in 
1519  the  Marchesa’s  picture  was  still  un- 
finished.” (1) 

The  progress  of  this  small  painting  bids  fair 
to  be  slow.  The  painter  is  too  busy  with  other 
orders  to  give  much  time  to  this  subject.  The 
demand  for  samples  of  his  work  at  this  period 
of  his  life,  is  amazing.  “He  could  now  no  longer 
devote  himself  unreservedly  to  objects  of  his 
choice,  he  even  found  it  utterly  impossible  to 
cope  with  the  multitude  of  commissions  that 
were  showered  upon  him  by  the  mighty  ones 
of  this  earth,  even  though  a swarm  of  assistants 
were  constantly  kept  at  work.  Raphael  was 
now  the  Pope’s  architect  as  well  as  his  superin- 
tendent of  ceremonies.  In  addition  to  these 

(1)  Julia  Cartwright,  1.  c.,  VII,  page  162-164. 


86 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


offices,  he  was  in  1515,  appointed  inspector  of 
antiquities  in  succession  to  Fra  Giocondo  of 
Verona.  He  had  to  paint  sceneries  and  design 
medals  and  plans,  and  on  one  occasion  he  was 
actually  called  upon  to  paint  a life-size  elephant 
on  the  walls  of  the  Vatican. ' 

Yet,  with  all  these  absorbing  occupations,  he 
found  time  to  model  several  reliefs  for  the  Chigi 
tomb  in  the  Chigi  Chapel  of  St.  Maria  del 
Popolo,  notably  a panel  of  classic  design  repre- 
senting “Christ  Conversing  with  the  Woman  of 
Samaria,”  which  was  cast  in  bronze  by  Loren  - 
zotto,  who  also  executed  in  marble  a statue  of 
Jonah  from  a model  by  Raphael.  He  furnished 
the  architectural  designs  of  the  Villa  Madama 
for  Giulio  dei  Medici  (afterwards  Clement  VII) 
and  several  of  other  palaces  in  Rome,  and  also 
for  the  dainty  Palazzo  Pandolfini  in  Florence, 
where  the  alternating  arched  and  triangular 
pediments  are  for  the  first  time  introduced  in 
secular  Renaissance  architecture.  He  furnished 
the  engraver  Marcantonio  Raimondi  of  Bologna 
with  designs  like  the  famous  “Judgment  of 
Paris.”  He  conceived  and  began  the  execution 
of  an  elaborate  Cosmography’  of  Rome.  (1) 
These  were  his  minor  occupations.  His  easel 
pictures,  portraits  and  other  productions  of 
(1)  Raphael  by  Paul  Konody,  London,  pages  68-71. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


87 


that  period,  are  numerous.  The  Madonna 
Gonzaga  is  only  one  of  them. 

The  Black  Friars  of  the  monastery  of  San  Sisto 
in  Piacenza  ordered  a painting  of  the  Madonna, 
“the  greatest  and  most  deservedly  popular  of 
his  altar-pieces,”  the  Transfiguration  was  begun 
in  competition  with  Sebastian  del  Piombo  ; 
Lorenzo  of  Medici,  the  duke  of  Urbino,  orders 
a painting  of  the  Madonna  and  another  of 
St.  Michael  slaying  the  dragon  to  send  as 
presents  to  the  King  of  France.  Raphael  will 
add  to  those  two  paintings  the  St.  Margaret, 
at  present  also  in  the  Louvre.  An  inscription 
in  the  church  of  St.  Silvester  in  Aquila  dis- 
closes the  fact  that  the  Visitation  now  in  the 
Prado,  was  painted  at  that  time.  Several  other 
paintings  of  the  Madonna  belong  to  that  period. 

“All  the  most  notable  men  who  were  in  Rome 
at  that  period,  passed  through  Raphael’s  studio, 
but  of  the  portraits  which  he  is  known  to  have 
painted  in  Rome,  comparatively  few  have  come 
down  to  us.  Among  the  lost  portraits  are  those 
of  Pietro  Bembo,  of  Giuliano  dei  Medici,  duke 
of  Nemours,  of  Federigo  Gonzaga,  and  of 
Lorenzo,  duke  of  Urbino.” 

But  it  was  Leo  X who  above  all  kept  Raphael 
busy.  The  great  artist  painted  the  portrait  of 
this  Pope  with  his  two  nephews.  His  special 


88  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 

attention  and  the  best  part  of  his  time,  were 
given  to  his  famous  cartoons  and  the  decora- 
tions of  the  loggia  in  the  Vatican.  They  repre- 
sent fifty-two  subjects  taken  from  Holy 
Scripture  and  are  known  as  “The  Bible  of 
Raphael.”  (l) 

No  wonder  he  was  slow  in  filling  Isabella’s 
order  for  the  painting  of  the  Madonna.  He  had 
to  be  urged  many  a time  by  the  friends  of  the 
marchioness  before  beginning  the  painting,  and 
again  before  it  was  finished.  Castiglione  took  a 
special  interest  in  the  painting  as  we  learn  from 
several  letters  of  that  time.  He  was  the  one 
who  took  care  of  it  after  Raphael’s  death  and 
brought  it  to  Mantua. 

A third  person  of  that  period,  Paolucci,  has 
left  us  another  important  document  on  this 
same  painting.  He  was  the  agent  in  Rome  of 
the  Marchesa’s  brother  Alphonso  d’Este,  Duke 
of  Ferrara.  “Raphael  seems  to  have  been 
presented  to  the  Duke  in  1513,  by  their  mutual 
friend,  Ariosto,  but  it  is  only  after  1517  that  we 
have  certain  proof  of  his  relations  with  the 
sovereign  of  Ferrara.”  (2)  This  was  two  years 
after  Isabella  had  sent  the  canvas  for  the  paint- 
ing to  Raphael.  At  that  time,  the  master’s 


(1)  lb.  page  73. 

(2)  Muntz,  1.  c.,  page  596. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


89 


reputation  had  so  increased  “that  princes  con- 
tended for  the  slightest  sketch  from  his  pen- 
cil.” (1)  The  Duke  of  Ferrara,  too,  forced  a 
promise  from  Raphael  for  a painting,  sending 
his  envoy  to  him  often,  even  threatening  the 
master  with  revenge  if  he  should  not  begin  his 
picture.  But  Raphael  died  too  early  to  comply 
with  the  Duke’s  wishes.  His  envoy  had  been 
at  the  studio  several  times  and  was  in  com- 
munication with  Castiglione.  He  writes  to  his 
master  in  1519:  “I  have  been  to  see  M.  Baldas- 
sare  Castiglione  with  whom  I spoke  of  Raphael, 
and  he  told  me  that  for  a long  time  past  he  had 
been  painting  a picture  for  Madonna  la  Marchesa, 
but  was  so  busy  with  other  things  that  he  worked 
at  it  only  in  his  presence.  And  the  Count  feels 
certain,  that,  when  he  is  gone,  he  will  work  at  it 
no  more.”  (2) 

We  come  now  upon  another  important  docu- 
ment relating  to  this  Madonna. 

A painting  of  the  Madonna,  commissioned 
by  the  court  of  Mantua,  was  not  yet  delivered 
at  Raphael’s  death.  It  was  in  the  hands  of 
Castiglione  who  at  the  request  of  the  Court  of 
Mantua,  sent  it  to  that  city  to  his  mother, 
asking  her  to  take  care  of  it  till  his  return  to 

(1)  Muntz,  lb. 

(2)  Campori,  1.  c. 


90 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


Mantua,  no  doubt  with  the  intention  to  take  it 
over  to  the  Court  himself.  We  find  these  details 
in  a letter  addressed  by  Castiglione  to  his 
mother  in  Mantua,  and  dated  from  Rome, 
Dec.  29,  1520:  (l) 

“The  Court  insisting  upon  my  sending  this 
horseman,  I give  in  his  charge  a few  of  my 
belongings  so  that  I may  be  less  embarrassed  on 
my  coming  to  Mantua.  My  earnest  wish  is  to 
know  if  they  have  arrived  in  safety;  therefore 
I beg  from  you  to  notify  me  after  you  have 
received  them.  Unwrap  them  and  put  them  in  a 
place  where  nobody  can  see  them  and  where 
they  are  not  exposed  to  smoke.  Your  small 
studio  would  be  a fit  place ; there  is  a painting  of 
Our  Lady  by  the  hand  of  Raphael , the  head  of  a 
peasant  and  an  antique,  a small  statue  in  marble. 
All  those  things  are  very  dear  to  me  and  as  I 
have  told  you  do  not  let  them  be  seen  by  any 
one.  I close  my  letter  here  not  to  retard  the 
messenger.  There  is  also  a package  from  the 
widowed  Duchess.” 

“Un  quadro  d’una  nostra  donna  di  man  di 
Raffaelo”  are  Castiglione’s  words.  The  author, 
d’Arcole,  comments  on  these  words:  “Si  recorda 

(1)  Lettera  scrittaal  29  di  decembre  del  1520  da  Bal- 
thassare  Castiglione  a sua  madre;  in  Delle  arti  e degli 
artefici  di  Mantova,  notizie.  Mantova,  1857,  vol.  ii 
pages  87,  88. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


91 


che  una,  nostra  Donna  dipinta  dal  Sanzio  era 
posseduta  nello  anno  1627  dai  Gonzaga  ma  non 
abbiamo  prova  che  quella  pittura  fosse  la  stessa 
che  un  secolo  prima  era  stata  mandata  in 
Mantova  di  Castiglione  (One  painting  of  our 
Lady  by  Sanzio  is  recorded  as  belonging  in  1627 
to  the  Gonzaga  family,  but  we  have  no  proof 
that  that  picture  is  identical  with  the  one  sent 
a 'century  before  to  Mantua  by  Castiglione). 
Then  the  historian,  like  many  after  him,  at- 
tempts to  identify  it  with  some  known  painting, 
averring  this  to  be  a mere  supposition  on  his 
part.  The  inventory  of  the  Gonzaga  Gallery 
drawn  up  in  1627  mentions  the  paintings  of 
only  a few  rooms  and  is  incomplete.  There  is 
but  one  Madonna  by  Raphael  mentioned  in  it. 
D’Arcole  is  right  in  concluding  from  this  docu- 
ment that  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century  the  family  of  the  Gonzagas  owned  two 
Madonnas  by  Raphael. 

The  importance  for  us  of  Castiglione’s  letter 
to  his  mother  can  easily  be  understood.  Here 
we  learn  that  there  was  in  existence,  in  1520,  a 
Madonna  by  Raphael  which  was  not  yet  de- 
livered to  the  person  who  had  ordered  the 
picture.  What  is  this  mysterious  painting  and 
where  is  it  now?  Is  it  the  “ Pearl,”  now  in 
Madrid,  the  only  Madonna  mentioned  in  the 


92 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


Mantua  catalogue?  Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle 
are  inclined  to  believe  so.  About  the  “ Pearl” 
they  write:  “ Quoted  by  Vasari  as  a genuine 
Raphael  in  the  collection  of  the  Counts  of 
Canossa  at  Verona,  it  was,  perhaps,  the  picture 
which  Balthassare  Castiglione  assigned  to  Ra- 
phae1  and  took  with  him  when  he  left  Rome  for 
Mantua  in  December,  1520.”  (2) 

That  author  contradicts  himself  on  the  next 
page,  where  he  says:  “That  Vincento,  Duke  of 
Mantua,  obtained  the  masterpiece  from  the 
Sforza,  has  been  almost  proved  by  circum- 
stantial evidence.”  The  “Pearl,”  indeed,  was 
painted  for  the  Colonna  family,  then  it  passed 
into  the  Sforza,  and  from  there  into  the  Gonzaga 
collection;  while  D’Arco  is  right  in  conjecturing 
that  the  picture  brought  from  Mantua  by 
Castiglione  is  a different  one,  and  his  statement 
is  corroborated  by  the  letters  extant  about  the 
sale  of  the  Mantua  paintings,  where  two  im- 
portant works  by  Raphael,  both  belonging  to 
the  Mantuan  collection,  are  mentioned. 

The  last  Madonna  known  to  the  authors  is 
that  of  Francis  I,  signed  and  dated  1518.  The 
Madonna  taken  care  of  by  Castiglione  is  not 
known.  The  Boston  picture  is  dated  1520.  It 
is  painted  on  canvas,  as  the  Mantuan  picture 
(2)  Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle,  Vol.  II,  page  470. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


93 


was;  it  is  a Madonna,  and  rather  small  (2  feet 
4 inches  by  3 feet  4 inches)  compared  to  other 
Holy  Families  by  Sanzio,  and  must  have  been 
begun  about  1515  or  1516,  the  symbolism  of  the 
picture  being  the  same  as  that  of  the  two  Ma- 
donnas della  Sedia  and  della  Tenda,  painted 
about  the  same  time.  The  painting  ordered  by 
Isabella  had  a special  effect  of  light.  So  has  the 
Boston  painting  an  oval  of  light  which  is  most 
remarkable.  The  picture  taken  to  Mantua  by 
Castiglione  must  therefore  be  the  Boston 
painting. 

How  much  the  Marchesa  paid  to  Raphael’s 
heirs,  and  whether  Raphael  himself  had  received 
beforehand  a sum  on  account,  as  he  did  for 
some  other  paintings,  we  are  not  able  to  state. 
Neither  can  we  say  for  which  room  of  the  palace 
the  Madonna  was  destined.  Julia  Cartwright 
published  a small  work  on  “Raphael  in  Rome” 
previous  to  her  two  volumes  on  Isabella  d’Este. 
We  read  in  this  book  on  page  s venty-three: 
“Isabella  d’Este  waited  four  years  in  vain  for  a 
little  picture  which  Raphael  had  promised  to 
paint  for  her  Grotta.”  This  is  a mere  supposi- 
tion which  she  abandoned  in  her  later  work. 
The  inventory  of  the  pictures  hung  up  in  t e 
Grotta  does  not  mention  a Madonna  by  Raphael. 
Indeed,  such  a devotional  painting  would  have 


94 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


been  in  poor  company  with  some  works  by 
Perugino,  Mantegna  and  Corregio.  (1) 

(1)  See:  D’Arco:  Descrizione  di  alcumi  oggetti  d’arte 
posseduto  da  Isabella  Estense,  marchesa  di  Mantova, 
1.  c.,  vol.  ii,  page  134. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


The  Painting  in  Mantua. 

The  picture  was  probably  destined  not  for  a 
gallery,  but  as  an  ornament  for  the  private 
apartments  of  the  Marchesa,  the  Madonna 
hanging  on  the  wall  to  the  right  of  the  person 
entering  with  the  light  falling  on  it  from  the 
opposite  window. 

“The  earlier  half  of  the  seventeenth  century 
was  pre-eminently  the  time  of  the  great  col- 
lectors, great  not  only  in  the  sense  that  they 
collected,  or  sought  to  collect,  great  works, 
but  that  they  sought  to  acquire  as  many  of  them 
as  they  could.  The  point  of  view  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  and  to  a certain  extent  also  in  the 
sixteenth,  had  been  qui'te  different.  Works  of 
art  were,  as  a rule,  ordered  of  artists  with  a 
definite  object,  and  for  a definite  place;  and 
movable  pictures,  other  than  portraits,  even 
when  they  dealt  with  the  subject  of  classical 
antiquity,  with  mediaeval  romance,  or  allegory, 
were,  as  a rule,  executed  with  a view  to  the 
particular  function  which  they  were  to  fulfill, 


96 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


and  to  the  company  in  which  they  were  to  find 
themselves.”  (1) 

Since  Isabella  herself  sent  the  canvas  for  the 
painting  and  gave  its  size  and  the  light  in  which 
it  was  to  be  exhibited,  it  can  clearly  be  seen  th  t 
she  destined  it  for  a special  place  in  her  palace. 

Was  the  painting  later  changed  to  another 
place  after  her  husband’s  death,  "when  she 
moved  to  anoth  er  part  obth  e pa  lace  ? Her  gallery 
seems  to  have  always  been  in  the  same  apart- 
ment. “In  the  inventory  that  was  taken  in 
1542,  the  pictures  are  all  noted  down  as  still 
in  the  Grotta,  and  it  appears  from  the  negotia- 
tions of  the  sale  of  the  ‘Triumph’  in  the  letters 
of  Daniel  Nys,  of  the  year  1627,  that  the  pictures 
were  also  at  that  time  in  the  Grotta,  at  any  rate 
in  part.”  (2)  This  devotional  picture  painted 
by  Raphael  is  not  in  the  inventories  of  the 
gallery,  because  perhaps  Isabella  was  specially 
attached  to  this  painting  of  the  Madonna  and 
kept  it  in  her  own  private  apartments  so  that 
she  might  have  it  before  her  eyes  all  the  time, 
and  hence  it  probably  followed  her  to  her  new 
quarters. 

The  palace  in  which  the  Mantua  collection 
was  stored  was  a rather  irregular  agglomeration 

(1)  Claude  Phillips,  L.  c.,  page  8. 

(2)  Andrea  Mantegna,  by  Paul  Kristeller,  page  346. 


n 


INGRES 

LEONARDO  DA  VINCI  DYING  IN  THE  ARMS  OF  FRANCIS  I.,  KING  OF  FRANCE 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


97 


of  buildings,  but  in  richness  of  decoration  it 
excelled  many  residences  of  kings  and  emperors. 
What  remains  of  it  today  gives  us  an  idea  of  the 
splendor  of  Isabella’s  court.  Those  walls  were 
covered  with  frescoes  by  such  m n as  Man- 
tegna, Lorenzo  Costa  the  Younger  and  especially 
Giulio  Romano.  Giulio  Peppi,  called  Romano 
from  Rome  his  birthplace,  received  a call  to 
Mantua  four  years  after  Raphael’s  death  and 
remained  in  that  city  till  the  time  of  his  death, 
1546.  Surrounded  by  a number  of  pupils,  he 
displayed  great  activity  during  those  twenty-two 
years  and  decorated  several  halls  in  the  Reggia. 
Here  were  stored  the  masterpieces  of  Italian 
art.  The  “sala  di  Trionfi”  contained  the  nine 
pieces  of  Mantegna’s  Triumph  of  Caesar  which 
are  now  in  Hampton  Court,  England.  In  the 
next  room  were  the  famous  portraits  of  the 
Emperors  by  Titian.  The  Grotta  had  paintings 
by  Perugino,  Mantegna,  Lorenzo  Costa,  all  due 
to  the  inspiration  of  Isabella  herself.  They 
are  now  in  the  Louvre.  The  walls  of  the  Sala  di 
Fiumi  were  covered  with  allegories  by  Giorgio 
Anselmi;  while  the  adjoining  hall  contained  the 
gallery  of  paintings,  the  pride  of  Mantua  and  of 
entire  Italy,  (l) 

In  this  palace,  therefore,  the  visitors  who 

(1)  Julia  Cartwright,  1.  Vol.  II,  page  309. 


98 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


passed  through  Mantua  could  behold  our  Ma- 
donna. Among  them  let  us  mention  Charles  V 
on  his  memorable  trip  through  Italy.  He 
received  Federigo,  Isabella’s  son-,  in  Rome. 
4 ‘The  Emperor  honored  Federigo  with  marks  of 
especial  favor,  and  invited  him  to  occupy  rooms 
close  to  his  own.  Before  long  Charles  V gra- 
ciously informed  the  Marchesa  of  his  intention 
to  raise  her  son  to  the  rank  of  duke,  and  further 
intimated  his  willingness  to  visit  her  at  Mantua 
on  his  return  to  Germany.”  (1) 

The  Marchesa  prepared  for  the  honor  that 
awaited  her.  Giulio  Romano  found  here  a splen- 
did opportunity  to  show  his  talent  both  along 
architectural  lines  in  building  arches  of  triumph, 
and  along  decorative  lines  in  designing  scenery 
for  theatrical  plays.  His  originality  of  concep- 
tion and  rapidity  of  execution  were  equally 
remarkable  on  this  grand  occasion.  “Fifty  noble 
youths,  clad  in  white,  and  bearing  long  silver 
staves  in  their  hands  carried  a white  satin 
baldachino  over  the  Emperor’s  head  as  he  rode 
through  the  crowded  streets,  under  a series  of 
triumphal  arches  designed  by  Giulio  Romano. 
The  utmost  ingenuity  had  been  expended  on 
these  decorations.  Each  arch  was  adorned  with 
•groups  of  gods  and  goddesses,  and  inscribed 
(1)  Julia  Cartwright,  pages  323-324. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


99 


with  Greek  and  Latin  verses.  Mars  and  Venus, 
Mercury  and  Pallas  saluted  Caesar  in  the  words 
of  Virgil  and  in  the  name  of  Mantua.  On  the 
Piazza  di  San  Pietro  a colossal  Victory  held  the 
crown  of  laurel  over  the  Emperor’s  head.  The 
Emperor  was  feasted  during  four  weeks,  during 
which  he  was  shown  the  art  treasures  of  the 
Gonzagas.”  (1)  “He  saw  the  treasures  of 
Isabella’s  Grotta,  the  famous  armory  in  the 
Corte  Vecchia,  and  the  frescoes  of  the  story  of 
Psyche,  which  Giulio  Romano  had  painted  in 
Federigo’s  new  Palazzo  del  Fe.  But,  more  than 
any  of  these  he  admired  the  portraits  and  Holy 
Families.” 

Later  on  Mantua  was  visited  by  another  guest 
of  a different  character,  but  dear  to  every  Catho- 
lic heart — St.  Aloysius  Gonzaga.  He  made  a 
stay  of  seven  months  in  that  city.  Born  in  the 
Castle  of  Castiglione,  which  is  situated  on  the 
high  road  about  half-way  between  Brescia  and 
Mantua,  he  belonged  to  a side  branch  of  the 
Gonzaga  family,  to  that  of  the  Marquises  of 
Castiglione.  He  was  thus  a distant  relative  of 
the  Duke  Guglielmo,  who  occupied  the  throne 
after  the  death  of  his  brother  Francesco  III, 
1550,  both  being  grandsons  of  Isabella  d’Este 
The  young  saint  left  Florence,  November  10 

(1)  lb.  page  325. 


100  Raphael’s  Madonns  Gonzafa 

1579,  to  repair  to  Mantua.  He  was  eleven  years 
and  eight  months  old,  and  at  that  tender  age 
resolved  to  embrace  the  religious  state  of  life 
and  to  give  up  the  marquisate  to  his  brother, 
Rudolph.  In  November  of  the  year  1579  the 
Marquis  recalled  his  sons  from  Florence  to 
Mantua,  while  he  himself,  at  the  death  of  the 
Duke  William,  undertook  the  governorship  of 
the  marquisate  of  Montferrato.  Aloysius  and 
Rudolph  went  with  their  suite  to  Mantua  where 
they  were  to  make  friends  with  Vincent,  the 
Duke’s  son,  and  the  future  head  of  the  house  of 
Gonzaga.  (1) 

They  were  installed  in  the  palace  of  San 
Sebastiano,  the  property  of  the  Marquis  of  Cas- 
tiglione  in  that  city.  Here  Aloysius  continued 
his  studies  under  P.  Bresciani,  which  were, 
however,  frequently  broken  in  upon  in  a manner 
extremely  distasteful  to  his  inclinations,  namely 
by  visits  to  the  court,  attendance  at  festive  occa- 
sions, or  recreations  and  excursions  with  Prince 
Vincenzo.  (2) 

In  Florence,  already,  the  young  saint  liked  to 
kneel  down  before  paintings  of  the  Madonna,  in 

(1)  Meschler,  S.  J.,  Life  of  St.  Aloysius  Gonzaga,  page 
37. 

(2)  P.  V.  Cepari,  S.  J.,  Life  of  St.  Aloysius  Gonzaga  , 
pages  46-347. 


BOSTON  MUSEUM  OF  FINE  ARTS  SCHOOL  OF  VAN  DYCK 

CHARLES  I.,  KING  OF  ENGLAND.  AND  FAMILY 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  101 


which  the  city  on  the  banks  of  the  Arno  was 
very  rich.  “He  had  found  the  guiding  star  of 
his  life;  the  sweet  image  of  our  Lady  was  ever 
before  his  enraptured  mind.  It  met  him  every- 
where, in  the  golden  mosaics  of  the  old  church 
portals  and  in  the  masterpieces  of  the  great 
artists.”  (3)  We  may  be  sure,  therefore,  that 
in  Mantua  his  enraptured  gaze  often  rested  on 
this  marvelous  piece  of  art,  the  devotional 
Madonna  painted  by  the  divine  Sanzio. 

It  is  said  that  St.  Francis  de  Sales  also  visited 
the  court  of  Mantua  on  his  way  to  the  university 
of  Padua,  1587,  and  that  he  may  thus  have  been 
another  illustrious  visitor  who  admired  the 
Madonna. 

The  painting,  however,  was  not  to  remain  in 
the  city  of  Virgil.  In  the  following  century 
political  events  brought  about  the  sale  of  the 
rare  Mantuan  collection.  Duke  Ferdinando 
died  in  1626,  and  his  brother,  Vincenzo  II,  suc- 
ceeded him.  His  reign  lasted  only  fourteen 
months,  from  October  29,  1626,  to  December 
25, 1627.  During  that  short  period  he  squandered 
and  scattered  the  greater  part  of  the  beautiful 
collection  gathered  with  so  much  care  by  Isabella 
and  the  dukes  who  had  followed  her  on  the 
throne  of  Mantua.  To  Charles  I of  England  he 

(3)  Meschler,  S.  J.,  1.  c.,  page  36. 


102  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


sold  a number  of  paintings  and  statues,  master- 
pieces by  Raphael,  Titian,  Correggio,  Man- 
tegna’s nine  paintings  of  the  Triumph  of  Caesar, 
and  many  others. 

Charles  I came  at  a time  when  several  great 
princes  were  following  the  traditions  established 
in  Italy,  France  and  Spain  at  the  height  of  the 
Renaissance  period,  and  attached  to  their  court 
masters  of  renown.  Francis  I of  France  had 
called  to  St.  Cloud  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  who 
remained  with  him  till  his  last  days  and  died 
in  his  palace,  if  not  in  his  arms,  as  Vasari  so 
tenderly  imagines.  He  had  also  sent  for  Andrea 
del  Sarto,  who  did  not  relish  the  life  of  a 
court  painter,  and  returned  to  Italy  after  one 
year.  Charles  I won  Van  Dyck.  “It  has  been 
said  many  times  already  and  yet  it  must  be  said 
once  again,  that  never  were  limner  and  sitter 
in  a more  intimate  and  sympathetic  relation 
the  one  to  the  other,  than  Van  Dyck  and  his 
royal  master.”  (1) 

Charles  I ranks  with  monarchs  of  former 
times — with  Julius  II,  Leo  X,  Charles  V,  Philip 
II  of  Spain,  and  Francis  I of  France — not  only 
as  a patron  of  art,  but  also  as  a collector  who 
brought  together  a gallery  which  is  looked  upon 
by  modern  authors  as  unsurpassed  in  the  history 

(1)  Claude  Phillips,  1.  c.,  page  37. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  103 


of  the  world,  made  up  of  the  choicest  pieces  of 
other  collections  and  of  the  best  paintings  of 
contemporary  artists.  Rubens  called  him  the 
most  art  loving  prince  of  his  time.  In  a letter 
to  his  correspondent  Valavez,  dated  the  10th  of 
January,  1625,  he  writes:  “Monsieur  le  prince  de 
Galles  est  le  prince  le  plus  amateur  de  la  peinture 
qui  soit  au  monde.”  Charles  himself,  if  we  are 
to  believe  Walpole,  (1)  was  a draftsman  of 
talent;  and  Rubens,  during  his  short  stay  of 
nine  months  with  him,  did  not  disdain  to  correct 
his  sketches. 

“In  1621  we  find  authenticated  evidence,’ * 
writes  Claude  Phillips,  “that  the  Prince,  who  is 
of  the  same  age  as  the  century,  already  has  what 
is  styled  a gallery,  and  that,  with  the  confidence 
in  his  own  opinion  which  is  characteristic  of  the 
youthful  connoisseur,  he  does  not  scruple  to  sit 
in  judgment  on  the  works  of  one  of  the  greatest 
living  masters  of  his  time.”  (2)  Indeed,  Rubens 
himself  did  not  always  come  up  to  his  expecta- 
tions, and  in  daily  contact  with  this  keen  critic 
Van  Dyck  passed  over  to  his  fourth  manner, 
in  which  elegance  is  the  chief  quality,  and  became 
a portraitist  of  the  first  rank. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-three  Charles,  accom- 

(1)  Walpole,  Anecdotes  of  Painting. 

(2)  Claude  Phillips,  1.  c.,  page  16. 


104  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


parried  by  his  pet  courtier,  Buckingham,  who 
found  an  equally  tragic  end,  made  a romantic 
journey  to  Spain  to  ask  for  the  hand  of  the 
Infanta.  His  conquest  ended  not  in  that  of  the 
Spanish  lady,  but  in  the  acquisition  of  a number 
of  Spanish  and  Italian  paintings. 

One  of  the  earliest  and  most  important 
acquisitions  was  that  of  a part  of  the  Mantua 
collection.  “On  his  accession  he  set  to  work 
with  redoubled  energy,  while  maintaining  in 
his  employment  the  late  king’s  painter,  to 
collect  the  finest  attainable  pictures  and  works  of 
art  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  his  most 
prominent  agents,  besides  Dudley  Carlton  and 
Sri  Balthassar  Gerbier,  being  Nicholas  Laniere, 
painter,  expert  and  musician,  and  Daniel  Nys, 
a dealer  or  agent  residing  in  Italy.”  (1) 

It  appears  that  Nicholas  Laniere,  who  was 
Master  of  his  Majesty’s  Music,  and  also  a great 
judge  and  lover  of  painting,  was  sent  to  Italy 
by  the  king,  in  1625.  (2)  Sec.  Lord  Conway 
wrote  to  Sir  Isaac  Wake,  Charles’  ambassador  in 
Venice:  “Canterbury,  June  2,  1625.  His  Majesty 
having  sent  over  this  gentleman,  Mr.  Laniere,  to 
provide  for  him  some  choice  pictures  in  Italy, 
has  commanded  me  to  ask  you  in  his  name  to 

(1)  lb.  1.  c.,  page  26. 

(2)  Sainsbury  s “Unpublished  Papers,”  page  321. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  105 


give  him  your  best  help  and  assistance  in  direct- 
ing him  where  such  pieces  may  be  had,  giving 
him  access  to  them,  and  that  then  he  may  buy 
them  at  as  easy  rates  as  you  can  get  set  upon 
them.  He  has  bills  of  exchange  for  money  and 
it  would  be  one  special  part  of  your  care  and  his, 
not  to  make  known  the  cause  of  his  coming 
because  that  would  much  enhance  the  price.”  (1) 

To  this  ambassador  probably  is  due  the  fact 
that  Laniere  and  Daniel  Nys  could  obtain  an 
introduction,  and  the  latter  negotiate  the  sale. 
It  was  by  no  means  an  easy  work,  for  Daniel 
Nys  wrote  about  it  to  Endymion  Porter: — 
* ‘Venice,  April  27,  1628.  Since  I have  come  into 
the  world  I have  made  various  contracts,  but 
never  a more  difficult  one  than  this,  nor  yet  one 
which  has  succeeded  so  happily.  In  the  first 
place,  the  city  of  Mantua  and  then  all  the 
princes  of  Christendom,  both  great  and  small, 
were  struck  with  astonishment  that  we  could 
induce  the  Duke  Vincenzo  to  dispose  of  them. 
The  people  of  Mantua  made  so  much  noise  about 
it,  that  if  Duke  Vincenzo  could  have  had  them 
back  again,  he  would  readily  have  paid  double, 
and  his  people  would  have  been  willing  to  supply 
the  money.”  (2)  In  the  same  letter  he  reports 

(1)  lb.  1.  c.,  pages  321,  322. 

(2)  lb.  page  325. 


106  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


about  the  packing  up  and  shipping  of  the 
treasures.  "Signor  Laniere,  who  is  the  bearer 
of  this  letter,  has  truly  used  every  care  and 
diligence  to  repair  and  trim  up  the  pictures 
procured  from  the  young  Duke  of  Mantua, 
and  has  caused  them  to  be  encased  and  con- 
veyed, by  the  ship  Margaret,  in  a way  in  which 
his  Majesty  will  be  greatly  pleased  to  see 
them.”  (1) 

Here  we  have  the  name  of  the  ship,  the  first 
one  of  the  four,  which  carried  the  art  treasures 
to  the  shores  of  England.  May  12th,  he  writes 
to  the  same : "The  ship  Margaret  must  now  be  far 
advanced  on  her  voyage.  I have  not  as  yet 
heard  that  she  has  arrived  at  London,  so  that  I 
cannot  say  that  his  Majesty  has  seen  the  beauti- 
ful and  exquisite  pictures.  Among  them  is  the 
Madonna  of  Raphael  del  Canozza  (2),  for  which 
the  Duke  of  Mantua  gave  a Marquisate  worth 
50,000  scudi,  and  the  late  Duke  of  Florence 
would  have  given  to  the  Duke  of  Mantua  for 
the  said  Madonna  25,000  ducatoni  in  ready 
money.  The  man  who  negotiated  this  matter 
is  still  alive.  Then  there  are  the  twelve  Emperors 
of  Titian,  a large  picture  of  Andrea  del  Sarto,  a 

(1)  lb.  page  325. 

(2)  The  “Pearl”  of  the  Prado  Museum,  painted  for  the 
Canossa  family. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  107 


picture  of  Michael  Angelo  di  Caravaggio;  other 
pictures  by  Titian,  Correggio,  Giulio  Romano, 
Tintoretto  and  Guido  Reni,  all  of  the  greatest 
beauty.  In  short,  so  wonderful  and  glorious  a 
collection,  that  the  Hke  will  never  again  be  met 
with.”  (1) 

But  not  all  were  shipped  by  sea.  The  three 
choicest  pieces  of  the  collection  were  taken  over- 
land by  Laniere  himself;  two  pictures  by  Cor- 
reggio and  one  by  Raphael,  which  must  be  our 
Madonna,  as  there  were  but  two  paintings  in 
the  Mantua  collection  attributed  to  Raphael: 
the  ‘'Pearl”  and  the  Madonna  Gonzaga.  The 
“Pearl”  is  on  the  ship  Margaret:  “his  Majesty 
must  have  seen  it  already  among  the  treasures 
shipped,”  the  other  one  is  carried  by  land. 
“It  is  now  the  twelfth  of  May.  The  above 
(letter  written  April  27)  is  a copy  of  my  last; 
and  this  serves  to  confirm  the  departure  of 
Signor  Laniere,  from  whom  I have  letters  dated 
Bergamo,  2nd  of  May.  He  departed  via  the 
Grisons  for  Basle  in  good  health,  and  with  five 
horses,  God  accompanying  him  throughout. 
He  carries  with  him  two  pictures  of  Correggio, 
in  tempera,  (2)  and  one  Raffaele,  the  finest 

(1)  Sainsbury,  pages  325-326. 

(2)  The  two  paintings,  bearing  the  titles  Virtue  and  Vice, 
are  now  at  the  Louvre.  They  are  water-colors,  painted 
on  canvas  which  had  received  a special  preparatipn. 


108  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 

pictures  in  the  world , and  well  worth  the  money 
paid  for  the  whole,  both  on  account  of  their 
rarity  and  their  exquisite  beauty.  (1) 

About  the  same  time  the  ambassador,  Sir 
Isaac  Wake,  wrote  to  Sec.  Lord  Conway  and 
described  the  itinerary  followed  by  Lauiere  with 
his  precious  Madonna  and  his  two  Correggios: 
“Concerning  the  person  of  Mr.  Laniere  I can 
only  tell  your  Lordship  that  he  departed  from 
hence  yesterday,  the  27th  of  April  with  the 
intention  to  pass  through  Helvetia,  Lorraine 
and  so  to  Brussels;  he  has  a passport  of  mine  to 
facilitate  his  passage  through  the  countries  of 
the  Swiss  and  the  Grisons,  whither  I have  written 
likewise  to  my  servant,  Oliver,  to  serve  him  and 
assist  him  in  whatsoever  he  shall  require  in  those 
parts.  I have  further  caused  a trusty  guide  to 
come  from  Bergamo,  expressly  to  take  the  care  of 
his  transportation,  being  a diligent  and  faithful 
man,  who  has  long  served  me  in  all  my  voyages 
and  acquitted  himself  very  honestly;  and  lastly 
I lent  him  my  barge  to  transport  him  to  Padua, 
from  whence  he  is  to  go  in  coach  as  far  as  Ber- 
gamo and  there  to  take  horse.  He  carries  with 
him  the  best  pieces  of  painting.’’  (2) 

(1)  Sainsbury,  page  325. 

(2)  lb.  page  327. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


The  Painting  in  England. 

We  have  now  to  follow  the  history  of  the 
Madonna  after  it  reached  the  shores  of  England. 
We  come  across  three  more  documents  that 
attest  its  excellence  and  that  show  how  it  shone 
there  among  other  masterpieces  of  art.  There 
are  two  different  inventories  extant  in  which 
the  ‘ ‘small  Madonna  by  Raphael”  is  appraised 
at  £800,  the  highest  priced  of  the  collection 
for  its  size,  and  a letter  by  the  French  ambas- 
sador in  which  he  mentions  this  painting.  From 
one  of  these  inventories  we  see  that  the  picture 
was  hung  at  Hampton  Court.  Charles  I had 
stored  his  collection  in  several  palaces.  White- 
hall, St.  James,  Hampton  Court  and  the  minor 
royal  residences  of  which  the  chief  are  Greenwich, 
Nonesuch,  Oaklands  and  Wimbleton.  (1)  It 
defied  all  rivalry  and  outstripped  even  the 
finest  royal  collections  of  its  day — even  those 
inherited  from  Charles  V,  Philip  II  and  Philip  III 
by  the  Spanish  crown;  even  those  inherited  by 

(1)  Claude  Phillips,  1.  c.,  page  5. 


110  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


the  French  crown  from  Francis  I and  the  Valois 
Kings;  even  those  brought  together  by  the  art 
loving  Rudolph  II,  at  the  Imperial  Castle  at 
Prague. 

The  collection  made  by  Charles  could  not 
boast  such  a group  of  genuine  Leonardos  as 
consitutes  the  chief  glory  of  the  Louvre,  but  it 
included  the  incomparable  Cartoons  of  Raphael; 
it  had  at  least  one  Giorgione  which  modern 
criticism  has  spared;  its  Titians  were  without  a 
rival  in  the  world;  its  Correggios  unsurpassed 
and  some  of  its  Tintorettos  genuine  and  splendid, 
if  its  examples  of  Paolo  Veronese,  so  far  as  we 
know  them,  were  weak  and  doubtful. (1) 

What  object  had  Charles  in  view  in  collect- 
ing those  art  treasures?  He  wanted  not  only  to 
satisfy  a craving  for  curiosities,  a passionate 
love  of  art,  but  “he  was  bent  above  all  on 
gathering  together  a series  of  the  works  of  the 
great  Italian  masters,  which,  besides  shedding  a 
lustre  on  his  reign,  should  serve  to  direct  the 
style  and  refine  the  taste  of  the  artistic  spirit 
then  nascent  among  the  denizens  of  his  benighted 
kingdom.”  (2) 

(1)  lb.  pages  75-77. 

(2)  Ernest  Law,  pages  xxi-xxii.  A Historical  Cata- 
logue of  the  Pictures  in  the  Royal  Collection  at  Hampton 
Court. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  111 

Indeed,  England  had  not  followed  the  artistic 
movement  of  other  countries.  While  Italy  had 
seen  the  most  glorious  epoch  in  the  history  of 
art  and  was  to  remain  for  centuries  to  come  the 
leader,  and  while  the  Low  Countries,  Spain, 
Germany,  and,  to  a certain  degree,  France,  had 
schools  of  their  own,  England  had  given  prac- 
tically nothing  to  the  world  of  art.  Holbein 
had  come  over  from  Germany;  Penni,  the  brother 
of  Raphael’s  pupil,  from  Italy;  some  portraitists 
and  miniaturists  from  the  Netherlands  and 
France;  but  those  artists  had  not  yet  succeeded 
in  waking  up  the  English  nation  from  its  lethargy. 
The  efforts  of  Charles  I were  not  appreciated 
by  his  people.  His  high  ideal  could  not  be 
understood.  A strong  opposition  was  started 
against  him,  which  increased  and  led  to  a 
revolution.  Soon  his  throne  was  engulfed  in 
the  vortex,  and  he  himself  led  to  execution. 

Charles’  paintings  adorned  the  walls  of  his 
palaces.  Those  of  St.  James  and  Whitehall 
contained  by  far  the  greatest  number.  Hampton 
Court  harbored  some  382.  A special  building, 
nevertheless,  the  Banqueting  House,  belonging 
to  Whitehall,  was  reserved  for  his  gallery. 
Different  from  Isabella  d’Este  who  used  as  a 
theatre  the  hall  containing  Mantegna’s  paint- 
ings of  the  Triumph  of  Caesar,  Charles  I did 


112 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


not  allow  the  performance  of  plays  in  the 
Banqueting  Hall,  but  had  a new  chamber  built 
for  this  purpose  at  a cost  of  £2,500.  As 
soon  as  the  king  found  himself  in  danger,  before 
his  escape  from  Hampton  Court,  he  wrote  a 
letter  to  Colonel  Whalley,  his  custodian  at  that 
place,  with  strong  recommendations  to  protect 
his  art  treasures  of  all  sorts.  (1) 

Hampton  Court,  his  ordinary  residence,  seems 
to  have  contained  the  choicest  pieces  of  his  col- 
lection. Mrs.  Jameson  “than  whom  no  critic 
was  more  competent  to  pronounce”  used  the 
following  words  to  describe  it:  “The  list  of 

pictures  which  hung  in  his  own  private  apart- 
ments gives  a high  idea  of  the  elevation  and 
delicacy  of  his  taste.  In  his  bedroom  were  the 
portraits  of  his  wife  and  children  by  Van  Dyck, 
of  his  sister  Elizabeth  of  Bohemia  and  her 
children,  of  his  amiable  brother  Prince  Henry,  a 
Magdalen  by  Correggio,  a Madonna  by  Peruginc, 
The  Contest  between  the  Muses  and  the  Pieridies 
now  in  the  Louvre;  by  his  bedside  hung  a Holy 
Family,  a chef -d' oeuvre  by  Raphael.  In  the  three 
rooms  adjoining,  called  the  King’s  privy  lodging 
rooms  are  eleven  pictures  by  Titian  and  one  by 
Correggio.  In  the  second  room  there  are  eight 

(1)  See  Henry  Hewlett:  Charles  I as  a Picture  Collector, 
in  the  Nineteenth  Century,  August,  1890. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  113 


by  Titian  (including  the  Concert),  now  in  the 
National  Gallery,  and  the  famous  Venus  del 
Pardo , now  in  the  Louvre,  as  well  as  six  by 
Giulio  Romano.  In  the  third  room  are  three  by 
Correggio,  one  of  which,  the  lovely  Mercury  and 
Cupid , is  now  in  the  National  Gallery;  one  by 
Raphael ; three  by  Titian,  and  others  by  Andrea 
del  Sarto,  Giorgione  and  Parnigianino.  All  the 
pictures  in  this  room  are  by  distinguished  Italian 
masters.”  (1)  Hampton  Court  harbored  the 
choicest  pieces  of  his  collection.  The  king 
wanted  to  have  around  him  what  he  most 
admired.  How  often  did  his  gaze  rest  lovingly 
upon  the  two  Raphaels,  especially  upon  the 
Holy  Family,  the  chef -d'  oeuvre,  hanging  by  his 
bedside!  Which  Holy  Family  was  it?  Was  it 
not  our  Madonna? 

Charles’  collection  contained  few  paintings  by 
Raphael.  If  we  except  the  Madonna  Piccola 
Gonzaga  and  the  Pearl,  the  others  are  not  worth 
mentioning.  According  to  the  catalogue  of  the 
Louvre  drawn  up  in  1883  the  portrait  of  Bal- 
thassare  Castiglione  by  Raphael  was  in  Charles’ 
collection.  This  statement  is  not  accepted  by 
Raphael’s  biographers. 

The  inventory  of  the  Somerset  auction  has 

(1)  Art  Sales,  by  George  Redford,  London,  1888,  Vol.  I* 
pages  14-15. 


114  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 

another  Notre  Dame  de  Raphael , valued  at 
£200.  It  is  that  numbered  113.  This  is,  no 
doubt,  “a  repetition  with  variations  of  the 
Madonna  del  Rosa  of  Madrid,  a Raphael  in 
design  only,  and  barely  that.”  (1)  A reference 
will  be  made  later  on  to  a very  small  painting 
attributed  to  him,  a portrait  of  the  Duke  of 
Mantua. 

Therefore  the  only  two  paintings  by  Raphael 
to  which  Charles  would  have  given  a place  of 
honor  in  his  private  apartments  were  the  two 
Madonnas  above  mentioned.  Was  it  the  Pearl 
or  the  Madonna  Piccola  Gonzaga  which  hung  by 
his  bedside?  We  presume  it  was  the  more  de- 
votional of  the  two,  the  one  whose  technique 
was  the  better,  namely  the  Madonna  Gonzaga. 
If  it  was  the  Pearl , and  if  the  Madonna  Gonzaga 
was  in  the  third  room,  Charles  would  have 
shown  very  bad  taste  by  placing  her  side  by 
side  with  Correggio’s  lovely  Mercury  and  Cupid . 

The  Madonna  was  to  remain  in  Hampton 
Court  more  than  twenty  years.  The  beautiful 
collection  gathered  with  so  much  care  and  labor 
was  soon  to  be  scattered  to  the  four  winds.  If 
Walpole  is  not  mistaken,  the  sale  began  as  early 
as  1645;  according  to  other  authors  the  col- 
lection was  kept  together  until  parliament, 

(1)  Claude  Phillips,  1.  c.,  page  9. 


CROMWELL  AT  WHITEHALL 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  115 


May  23,  1649,  resolved  upon  the  disposal  of  the 
personal  effects  of  the  late  King,  Queen  and 
Prince,  and  gave  an  order  to  have  the  same 
inventoried,  appraised  and  sold,  except  such  as 
should  be  thought  fit  for  the  use  of  the  state. 
“The  Act  was  passed  in  the  following  July,  but 
though  it  has  repeatedly  been  said  that  the 
pictures  and  other  works  of  art  were  sold  at 
public  auction,  there  is  no  account  in  the  Public 
Record  Office  of  any  such  auction.  An  auction 
sale,  as  we  understand  it,  was  not  the  customary 
mode  of  procedure  in  such  cases,  nor  did  it 
become  established  in  London  for  nearly  a 
century  later.”  (1)  This  sale  must  be  con- 
sidered rather  as  “a  competition,  by  privately 
pitting  one  likely  purchaser  against  another.” (2) 

The  sale  lasted  till  1653.  The  paintings 
brought  the  paltry  sum  of  £38,000.  To 
think  that  in  our  day  two  Madonnas  by  Sanzio, 
not  his  best  at  that,  should  have  each  been  sold 
for  four  times  that  sum!  Those  at  Hampton 
Court,  which  were  382  in  number,  went  for 
£4,675.  (3) 

There  are  several  documents  on  this  sale 

(1)  George  Redford,  1.  c.,  page  15. 

(2)  lb. 

(3)  A Historical  Catalogue  of  the  Pictures  in  the  Royal 
Collection  at  Hampton  Court,  by  Ernest  Law,  page  xxv. 


116  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


which  inform  us  how  our  Madonna  passed  into 
other  hands.  Mention  is  first  made  in  Claude 
Phillips’  exquisite  study,  the  Picture  Gallery  of 
Charles  I,  of  an  inventory  discovered  by  himself. 
He  says:  “The  writer  of  the  present  notice  has 
found  at  the  South  Kensington  Museum  another 
inventory  which  appears  to  be  in  substantial 
agreement,  so  far  as  it  goes,  with  the  inventories 
before  mentioned.  It  is  entered  as  follows  in 
the  catalogue  of  the  Art  Library:  ‘Charles  I. 
Inventories  of  the  Pictures,  plate,  jewels,  statues 
with  their  valuations  as  possessed  by  King 
Charles  I and  appraised  during  the  Common- 
wealth, time  of  sale  1649-1653.  A well-written 
official  M.  S.,  folio  (c.  1681).  A transcript  of 
the  above  sixty -one  pages  in  modern  writing 
(S.  K.  M.)”’  (1) 

While  Charles  I still  had  control  of  the  state 
affairs,  Vanderdoort,  the  keeper  of  the  pictures 
at  Whitehall  and  St.  James,  drew  up  a catalogue 
of  the  same.  As  he  limits  himself  to  the  two 
palaces  just  mentioned,  and  as  our  Madonna 
was  at  Hampton  Court,  we  do  not  find  it  referred 
to  in  his  catalogue;  but  it  is  included  in  the 
inventory  given  above:  Little  Madonna  and 

Christ  by  Raphael,  £800. 

Claude  Phillips  comments  upon  this  short 

(1)  Claude  Phillips,  1.  c.,  page  54. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  117 


item  in  the  following  words:  “Mention  is  also 
made  in  the  South  Kensington  Inventory 
(Hampton  Court),  and  in  Walpole’s  Ancedotes, 
though  not  in  Vanderdoort’s  catalogue,  which 
was  confined  to  Whitehall  and  St.  James , 
of  a Little  Madonna  and  Christ  estimated  at 
£800.  Considering  its  small  size , it  brought  the 
highest  price  at  the  sale.  It  is  clear  that  the 
Madonna  so  highly  esteemed  must  have  been  a 
well  known  and  coveted  work  universally  attributed 
to  the  master (1) 

This  author  then  tries  to  identify  it  with  La 
Vierge  de  la  Maison  d' Orleans.  “Such  a de- 
scription (Little  Madonna  and  Christ)  seems 
best  met  by  the  little  Vierge  de  la  Maison 
d1  Orleans  (11 by  14 }/>  inches).  This  is  prob- 
ably (?)  the  little  picture  described  by  Vasari 
as  having  been  painted  for  Duke  Guibaldo  of 
Urbino,  and  entered  in  the  Urbino  inventory  as 
‘Quadretto  d’una  Madonna  con  un  Christo  in 
braccio,  in  legno  (on  wood),  che  viene  da  Raf- 
faele.’  After  the  sixteenth  century  it  is  not  to 
be  traced,  so  far  as  the  writer  is  aware,  until  it 
reappears  in  the  collection  of  the  Duke  d’Orleans* 
brother  of  Louis  XIV,  whence  it  passed  by  in- 
heritance to  that  of  the  Regent.  It  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  there  is  nothing  at  present 

(1)  lb.  page  80. 


118  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


beyond  some  slight  probability  to  support  this 
hypothesis.’  (1) 

This  painting  cannot  be  the  Little  Madonna 
and  Christ  valued  in  the  inventory  at  £800. 
This  must  be  the  Madonna  Gonzaga  which  was 
finished  in  1520  and  which  belongs  to  Raphael’s 
Roman  period,  while  the  Vierge  de  la  Maison 
d' Orleans  was  painted  in  1507  and  belongs  there- 
fore to  his  Florentine  period.  Then  the  Mantua 
painting  is  on  canvas,  while  this  one  is  on  wood ; 
moreover*  the  Vierge  de  la  Maison  d}  Orleans  is 
rather  an  inferior  work  and  could  not  have  passed 
for  the  highest  price  of  the  sale;  and,  finally,  it 
was  never  in  Charles’  collection. 

If  we  now  compare  the  valuation  of  paintings 
belonging  or  attributed  to  other  great  masters 
with  that  of  our  Madonna  we  can  ascertain  how 
the  commissioners  were  impressed  with  the 
transcendent  beauty  of  this  painting.  A Man  s 
Head  by  Rembrandt  is  appraised  at  two  pounds. 
Two  Titians  are  supposed  to  bring  respectively 
one  hundred  and  one  hundred  sixty  pounds,  a 
Giorgione,  thirty  pounds,  a Perugino,  fifteen 
pounds,  a Rubens,  fifty  pounds. 

Agreeing  with  this  inventory  found  by  Claude 
Phillips  is  that  discovered  by  a French  writer, 
the  Count  de  Cosnac,  whose  book  on  les  richesses 

(1)  Claude  Phillips,  page  80. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  119 


du  palais  Mazarin  contains  documents  on  the 
Cardinal’s  acquisitions  at  the  sale  of  Charles’ 
art  treasures.  Here  we  come  across  two  im- 
portant documents  on  our  Madonna,  a letter 
by  H.  de  Bordeaux  to  the  Cardinal,  mentioning 
the  small  Madonna  and  the  inventory  of  the 
Somerset  sale,  discovered  by  the  Count  in  the 
archives  of  the  Ministry  for  Foreign  Affairs  in 
France.  This  inventory  is  entitled:  “Etat  de 
quelques  tableaux  exposes  en  vente  a la  maison 
de  Somerset,  May,  1650.”  Here  we  find  several 
paintings  attributed  to  Raphael.  No.  41  is 
La  Transfiguration , by  Raphael,  fifteen  pounds. 
We  see  here  how  an  inferior  copy  is  simply  put 
under  the  master’s  name ; but  the  commissioners 
by  placing  such  a low  price  on  the  painting  dis- 
claim any  belief  in  their  statement.  No.  145: 
Un  homme  avec  un  bonnet  noir,  by  Raphael, 
thirty  pounds.  About  this  painting  Claude 
Phillips  says:  “The  painter  of  the  panel  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  Urbinate  or  with  his 
school.”  No.  60:  Les  cartons  de  Raphael  des 
Actes  des  Apotres,  three  hundred  pounds. 
Claude  Phillips  says  about  them  that  “through 
the  instrumentality  of  Rubens,  in  1630,  King 
Charles  purchased  what  the  modern  world  holds 
to  have  been  his  greatest  treasure — the  series  of 
the  seven  world-famous  cartoons  of  Raphael, 


120  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 

the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.”  (1)  Yet  they  are 
appraised  only  at  three  hundred  pounds,  while 
No.  326  La  Petite  Notre  Dame  de  Raphael, 
priced  eight  hundred  pounds,  is  looked  upon  as 
far  more  valuable. 

Let  us  note  this  No.  326.*  On  the  straining 
board  of  the  Boston  painting  we  find,  written 
with  red  chalk,  the  No.  324.  The  original 
frame  belonging  to  the  picture  when  it  was  dis- 
covered is  in  Ryan  and  Duffee’s  studio,  500  Boyl- 
ston  Street,  Boston.  According  to  frame  dealers 
of  that  city  it  is  an  English  frame,  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  old.  On  the  back  of  this 
frame  the  writer  was  the  first  one  to  notice  an 
inscription,  half  effaced,  done  in  pencil,  giving 
the  same  number  as  on  the  straining  board  of 
the  painting — 324 — followed  by  the  letters  “S. 
Auct.”  (Somerset  Auction).  These  two  num- 
bers, 326  of  the  inventory  and  324  on  the  picture 
and  frame,  present  no  slight  coincidence.  They 
must  be  identical.  In  all  probability,  therefore, 
the  picture  now  in  Boston  is  the  same  small 
Madonna  by  Raphael,  mentioned  in  the  Somer- 

(1)  Claude  Phillips,  1.  c.,  page  29. 

*This  number  326  is  apparently  an  error,  for  in  the  cata- 
logue the  numbers  ranged  under  certain  alphabetic 
letters  always  progress  so  that  the  smaller  number  precedes 
the  larger  one,  except  in  this  case,  where  326  precedes  325, 
so  we  probably  have  to  read  here  324. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


121 


set  inventory.  Comparing  this  high  valuation, 
eight  hundred  pounds  to  the  three  hundred 
pounds  of  the  cartoons  and  the  others  given  in 
this  inventory,  thirty  pounds  for  A Man  with  a 
Black  Cap , by  Raphael , fifteen  pounds  for  A 
Transfiguration , by  Raphael , let  us  remember 
Claude  Phillips’  words  above  mentioned,  the 
Small  Madonna  so  highly  priced  must  have  been 
“a  well  known  and  coveted  work  universally 
put  down  to  the  master.” 

Our  Madonna  escaped  destruction.  A decree 
was  twice  voted  that  “all  such  pictures  as  have 
the  representation  of  The  Second  Person  of  the 
Trinity,  or  of  the  Virgin  Mary  upon  them  shall 
be  burned,”  and  twice  cancelled,  that  they  should 
bring  the  money — auri  sacra  fames,  “the  cu- 
pidity that  invariably  attends  upon  hypocrisy 
thus  interposing  to  save  to  the  world  some  of 
the  noblest  works  of  human  genius.”  (1) 

This  is  the  second  time  it  escaped  destruction. 
If  it  had  not  been  bought  by  the  unfortunate 
King,  it  probably  would  have  been  destroyed  in 
1530  during  the  invasion  of  Italy  by  the  Ger- 
mans, like  other  art  treasures  in  Mantua.  (2) 
The  Revolutionists  were  not  satisfied  with  dis- 
posing of  the  picture  galleries:  “Having  thus  got 

(1)  Ernest  Law,  1.  c. 

(2)  See  Mantua,  by  Selwyn  Brinton,  pages  156-170. 


122  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 

rid  of  the  monarchy  the  Roundheads  next  set 
to  work  to  dispose  of  the  Royal  treasures.  An 
inventory  was  accordingly  made  by  order  of 
Parliament,  with  the  appraisement  of  every 
possession  of  the  murdered  sovereign,  not  only 
the  matchless  paintings  and  sculptures,  the 
costly  tapestries,  and  superb  jewels,  but  even  the 
furniture,  window  curtains  and  bed  coverlets 
were  to  be  included  in  the  sale.  Everything  that 
had  belonged  to  the  late  Charles  Stuart,  or 
recalled  the  splendors  of  his  court;  everything 
that  bore  the  impress  of  art  or  betokened  the 
influence  of  refinement  was  to  be  brought  to 
the  hammer  to  gratify  the  spite  of  the  coarse 
and  sour  fanatics.  To  them  the  paintings  of 
Raphael  and  Titian,  the  marvels  of  the  antique 
world  and  the  tapestries  of  Flanders,  the  glorious 
Gothic  cathedrals,  the  baronic  castles,  and 
Tudor  manor-houses  were  but  works  of  worldly 
luxury  and  superstitious  profaneness.  And 
being  totally  destitute  of  that  philosophic  toler- 
ance which  enables  people  to  admire  aesthetically 
what  is  repugnant  to  their  religious  and  moral 
prejudices,  they  hastened  to  sweep  it  all 
away-”  (1) 

There  were  buyers  as  well.  Among  these 
were  Mazarin,  who  rivalled  Charles  I in  collect- 

(1)  Ernest  Law,  1.  c.,  page  xxv. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


123 


mg  curios:  Philip  IV,  King  of  Spain,  who  bought 
paintings  through  Don  Alonzo  de  Cardenas, 
the  Spanish  ambassador;  Archduke  Leopold 
William,  Regent  of  the  Netherlands;  Queen 
Christine  of  Sweden;  Everhard  Jabach  of 
Cologne,  who  settled  later  in  Paris  and  whose 
collection  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  Louvre 
galleries. 

Among  the  agents  negotiating  the  sale,  Henry 
de  Bordeaux  was  one  of  the  most  active.  His 
correspondence  with  Cardinal  Mazarin  forms  a 
series  of  documents  relative  to  this  sale.  We 
have  in  it  a letter  written  to  Mazarin  from 
London,  dated  October  23,  1653,  where  the  Small 
Madonna  is  mentioned.  Mazarin  coveted  the 
picture,  but  was  not  willing  to  pay  the  price. 
Among  other  things,  Henry  de  Bordeaux  says 
here:  “I  have  been  also  told  that  the  small 
painting  by  the  same  painter  (Raphael)  repre- 
senting a Virgin,  is  also  out  of  England  and  is 
not  longer  in  the  hands  of  the  Member  of  Par- 
liament who  had  bought  it.”  (1) 

Here  we  obtain  two  bits  of  information:  that 
the  Small  Madonna  had  been  for  a while  in  the 
hands  of  a Member  of  Parliament,  and  that  he 
sold  it  to  some  foreign  buyer.  Who  was  this 
Member  of  Parliament?  Among  the  buyers 

(1)  Gabriel  Jules  de  Cosnac,  1.  c.,  page  187. 


124  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


belonging  to  that  body  of  men  we  meet  two 
names,  Hutchison  and  Harrison.  (1)  It  was 
into  the  hands  of  Harrison  that  the  painting  fell. 

This  we  know  from  Richard  Symons,  who 
mentions  the  paintings  bought  by  Harrison. 
His  notes  are  preserved  in  the  Egerton  MS., 
in  the  British  Museum,  a contemporary  docu- 
ment of  the  sale.  Symons  had  traveled  in  Italy, 
was  somewhat  of  a connoisseur,  and  liked  to 
insert  here  and  there  quaint  scraps  of  Italian  in 
his  descriptions  of  the  pictures  he  saw.  He 
mentions  the  names  of  several  persons  formerly 
employed  at  court  by  the  King,  each  one  of 
whom  had  in  his  care  or  owned  paintings  formerly 
belonging  to  Charles’  collection.  There  is  one 
Harrison,  the  King's  Embroider er , a Mr.  Bagley, 
the  King's  Glazier , Mr.  Murray,  the  King's 
Tailor , a certain  Wilson,  etc.  December  30, 
1652,  he  writes  that  he  had  seen  some  of  these 
paintings  “at  one  Harrison’s,  the  King’s  Em- 
broider, at  a wharf  near  the  Thames,  near 
Somerset  House.”  Harrison  was  not  far  from 
the  palace  where  so  many  precious  paintings 
were  for  sale.  He  himself  had  bought  some 
choice  pictures  to  sell  them  at  a higher  price, 
making  the  best  of  the  opportunity  offered  him 
to  increase  his  fortune.  He  had  others  also  in 
.(1)  Claude  Phillips,  1.  c.,  page  49. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  125 


his  care,  some  of  which  were  sold  to  the  Spanish 
ambassador  and  brought  to  the  Commonwealth 
five  hundred  pounds.  (1) 

This  King's  Embroiderer , who  turned  timber- 
dealer  after  Charles’  death,  had  certainly  fine 
specimens  in  his  house.  Mention  is  made  of 
five  Titians,  one  Montegna,  one  Bronzino,  and  a 
painting  by  the  daughter  of  Gentileschi.  These 
are  the  only  names  of  which  Symons  is  certain, 
finding  on  the  pictures  a board  with  an  inscrip- 
tion to  that  effect.  He  does  not  always  give 
credence  to  the  labels.  He  says  of  a St.  Jerome, 
“Some  say  by  M.  Angelo,  ‘tis  upon  board,  I 
believe  it  to  be  of  Giulio  Romano.”  No  name 
is  given  for  a ritratto  ( portrait ) of  a fine  boy  from 
Mantua , nor  for  a Small  Madonna  and  putto 
(infant),  both  mentioned  in  the  same  line. 
The  two  pictures  were  no  doubt  side  by  side, 
and  both  Mantuan  pieces  attributed  to  Raphael 
by  the  parliamentary  commissioners.  The  fine 
boy  from  Mantua  is  No.  47  of  the  Somerset 
inventory:  Le  Marquis  de  Mantua , par  Raphael , 
two  hundred  pounds.  Claude  Phillips  mentions 
it:  “Another  picture  ascribed  to  Raphael  in  the 
inventory  was  a Marquis'  Head  by  Raphael, 
evidently  identical  with  Vanderdoort’s  The 
Marquis  of  Mantua,  who  by  Charles  V was  made 
(1)  See  Diego  Velasquez,  by  Carl  Justi,  page  380. 


126  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 

first  duke  of  Mantua  inches  by  S}/2 

inches.)”  (1) 

Here  is  the  history  of  that  small  portrait. 
After  Federigo,  Isabella’s  d’Este’s  son,  had  been 
given  into  the  care  of  Pope  Julius  II  as  a host- 
age of  the  Venetians,  his  mother  wanted  a por- 
trait of  him  to  be  made  by  the  best  painter  in 
Rome.  Raphael  was  consequently  asked  to  do 
this  work.  He  promised  he  would  and  began 
the  portrait,  the  young  boy  giving  him  several 
sittings.  When  Pope  Julius  II  died  suddenly, 
Federigo  returned  to  his  mother,  and  Raphael 
gave  up  the  order.  One  of  his  pupils  seems  then 
to  have  taken  hold  of  the  master’s  sketch;  he 
finished  and  sold  it.  It  can  be  considered  as  a 
school  work.  Later  on  it  was  in  the  possession 
of  a servant  of  Cardinal  Colonna.  Federigo, 
then  Duke  of  Mantua,  hearing  of  the  portrait, 
induced  the  Cardinal  to  use  his  influence  with 
the  servant,  who  reluctantly  parted  with  the 
picture.  Cardinal  Colonna  then  presented  it 
to  the  Duke.  Later  on  it  was  shipped  to  Eng- 
land with  the  other  Mantuan  pieces,  but  not 
catalogued  as  a painting  by  Raphael.  No  doubt 
the  commissioners  used  Sanzio’s  name  for  the 
purpose  of  selling  it  at  high  price.  Harrison  had 
it  in  his  house  with  the  Small  Madonna  and  putto. 

(1)  Claude  Phillips,  1.  c.,  page  80. 


BOSTON,  MUSEUM  OF  FINE  ARTS  VELASQUEZ 


PHILIP  IV.,  KING  OF  SPAIN 


CHAPTER  IX. 


The  Picture  in  Spain. 

The  question  arises  now:  What  became  ot 

the  Madonna  Gonzaga  after  it  had  left  England? 
We  find  it  later  in  the  Escurial.  It  had  there- 
fore been  bought  by  Alonzo  de  Cardenas,  the 
Spanish  ambassador.  Alonzo  did  not  make  this 
acquisition  in  the  name  of  the  King,  but  in  that 
of  Don  Luis  de  Haro,  the  prime  minister,  who 
“presented”  the  paintings  to  His  Majesty, 
Philip  IV.  So  the  dignity  of  the  Spanish  Court 
was  not  impaired  by  the  purchase  of  goods 
which  by  right  belonged  to  the  family  of 
Charles  I. 

This  purchase  of  as  many  paintings  as  possible 
remained  a secret.  Therefore,  H.  de  Bordeaux, 
when  inquiring  in  the  name  of  Mazarin  about 
the  Small  Madonna,  was  answered  that  it  had 
been  sold  outside  the  country.  No  information 
concerning  the  buyer  or  the  sum  paid  for  it  was 
given.  When  the  art  treasures  bought  in  Eng- 
land arrived  in  Spain,  a train  of  eighteen  mules 
carried  them  from  the  port  of  Corunna  to 
Madrid.  The  purchase  was  kept  so  secret  that 


128  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


the  ambassador  of  Charles  II  was  handed  his 
papers  and  turned  out  of  the  country  with  his 
suite. 

“Philip  remembering  his  royal  guest  of  some 
twenty-five  years  before,  and  his  genuine  en- 
thusiasm over  the  Titians,  must  evidently  have 
felt  some  compunction,  some  shame  even,  in 
the  matter,  seeing  that  when  the  ship  contain- 
ing the  precious  freight  of  masterpieces  arrived 
at  Corunna,  the  aged  Cobbington,  who,  with 
Sir  Edward  Hyde  was  in  Madrid  as  Charles  II’s 
ambassador,  suddenly  received  his  passports. 
The  real  reason  for  this  abrupt  dismissal  was,  as 
they  afterwards  learned,  that  they  should  be 
prevented  from  beholding  the  arrival  in  Madrid 
of  pictures  formerly  among  Charles’  choicest 
treasures.’’  (1)  Charles  was  a king  without  a 
throne,  so  the  Spanish  monarch  ran  no  risk  of 
getting  his  country  involved  in  war  by  this 
insult  to  his  ambassador. 

The  mules  loaded  with  the  art  treasures 
entered  Madrid  during  the  night.  Everything 
was  quietly  unpacked  and  stored  away,  and 
nobody  was  the  wiser.  Of  some  of  the  paintings 
no  mystery  was  made,  for  they  were  exhibited 
for  a time  in  the  large  sacristy  of  the  Escurial. 
Among  them  was  Raphael’s  Madonna  known 

(1)  Claude  Phillips,  1.  c.,  page  50. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  129 


as  The  Pearl.  It  is  said  that  the  King,  on  first 
seeing  this  painting,  exclaimed:  “This  is  the 
pearl  of  my  collection.”  Henceforth  the  name 
remained  attached  to  it.  It  was  no  secret  in 
London  that  “the  Pearl”  had  brought  £2000,  a 
sum  inferior  to  that  of  the  Madonna  Gonzaga 
if  we  consider  the  size  of  both  paintings. 

The  Escurial,  which  received  the  greater 
number  of  the  art  treasures  bought  from  England, 
is  a colossal  building  having  a perimeter  of  3,000 
feet.  It  is  at  the  same  time  a residential  palace, 
college,  monastery,  library,  art  gallery,  etc.  It 
was  here  that  the  Madonna  Piccola  remained 
up  to  the  invasion  of  Spain  by  the  French. 

The  Escurial  had  been  begun  by  the  order  of 
Philip  II.  It  served  as  an  art  gallery  from  the 
beginning.  The  acquisitions  made  by  Philip  IV 
in  England  excelled  in  importance  those  of 
former  ages.  He  is  undoubtedly  the  monarch 
whose  portrait  is  more  frequently  found  in  our 
museums  than  that  of  any  other  king.  His 
qualities  did  not  equal  those  of  Charles  V or 
Philip  II,  but  his  prestige  was  due  to  his  court 
painter  Velasquez.  If  ever  a genius  shed  lustre  on 
an  otherwise  inglorious  reign,  it  is  this  Spanish 
limner  who  entered  the  King’s  service  at  the  age 
of  twenty-four,  when  his  royal  master  was  only 
eighteen.  From  that  time  on  he  painted  his  por- 


130  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


trait  so  often,  that  Philip’s  features  are  better 
known  to  us  than  those  of  other  kings.  Boston 
alone  possesses  two  of  those  portraits. 

The  painters  employed  by  the  Spanish  kings 
had  their  residence  in  the  Elcazar,  the  royal 
palace.  Here  Velasquez  felt  perfectly  at  home 
amid  the  pomp  and  splendor  of  the  Spanish 
court.  Always  attired  in  the  richest  garments, 
submitting  in  everything  to  the  strict  exigencies 
of  Spanish  etiquette,  he  was  at  the  same 
time  a kind  of  curator  of  Philip’s  galleries 
dispersed  about  the  Elcazar  and  the  Escurial. 

Philip  IV  has  at  least  the  merit  of  having 
taken  interest  in  the  art  movement  of  his  age. 
He  was  himself  a draftsman . His  treasures,  how- 
ever, were  not  easily  accessible  to  the  public. 
Spanish  art  was  hardly  known  outside  of  Spain 
before  the  days  of  Napoleon.  Richard  Cumber- 
land made  in  1782  the  following  remark  : — 
“Spain  has  given  birth  to  many  eminent  painters, 
of  whom  there  is  no  memorial  outside  of  their  own 
country.  Spain,  however,  is  enriched  by  many  ad- 
mirableexamplesoftheirart,  dispersed  in  churches, 
convents,  palaces,  where  the  curiosity  of  modern 
travelers  rarely  carries  them.”  (1)  Charles  III 
even  forbade  the  exportation  of  M urillo’s  paintings. 

(1)  Richard  Cumberland,  Anecdotes  of  Eminent 
Painters  in  Spain,  Vol.  1,  page  1. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  131 


So  this  Spanish  painter  of  the  Madonna  was 
known  outside  of  Spain  by  name  only,  not  by 
his  works;  and  this  feature  explains  how  our 
painting  could  later  on  pass  for  one  of  Murillo’s 
works. 

While  it  was  in  the  Escurial,  it  was  ascribed 
to  Sanzio.  It  was  seen  there  by  Raphael  Mengs, 
the  painter  and  writer,  and  is  described  in  unmis- 
takable terms  in  the  two  volumes  of  his  voyage 
through  Spain,  which  were  published  after  his 
death  in  1783  by  one  of  his  friends.  We  have 
already  mentioned  this  description  of  our 
painting.  (1)  “I  saw  another  picture  of  the 
Madonna,  half-size,  with  the  Infant;  it  is  the 
same  composition  as  that  of  the  famous 
painting  of  Florence  known  by  the  name  of 
Madonna  of  the  Chair , with  this  difference  that 
St.  John  is  absent  from  the  painting  of  which 
we  speak.  Its  form  is  square,  while  that  of 
the  Madonna  of  the  Chair  is  round,  and  the 
figures  of  the  latter  are  nearly  of  natural 
size.  This  painting  in  the  palace  Escurial 
seems  to  be  painted  in  great  part  by  Raphael 
himself.  It  is  much  more  than  a mere 

sketch,  it  is  rather  a finished  work.  The 

head  of  the  Virgin  in  particular  is  entirely 
by  him  and  is  full  of  life  and  expression. 

(1)  See  page  19. 


132  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 

Finally,  it  ranks  with  any  one  of  his  best 
works.”  (1) 

In  this  description  given  by  Raphael  Mengs  we 
can  easily  recognize  the  Boston  painting.  The 
figure  of  St.  John  is  missing,  the  form  of  the 
painting  is  square,  and  the  figures  are  of  lesser 
size  than  those  of  the  Madonna  of  the  Chair. 
Moreover,  if  we  take  into  account  the  composi- 
tion itself,  the  Christ  Child  nestling,  as  in  the 
Madonna  della  Sedia,  in  His  Mother’s  arms, 
except  that  the  Infant  is  on  the  left  of  the 
beholder,  while  in  the  Madonna  della  Sedia, 
He  is  on  the  right,  we  can  go  through  Raphael’s 
entire  work,  from  the  day  he  left  the  tutelage 
of  Perugino  to  that  moment  when  struck  with 
fever  he  dropped  his  brush  before  the  canvas 
on  which  he  was  painting  the  Transfiguration, 
never  to  take  it  up  again,  and  we  shall  not  find 
another  Madonna  to  which  the  description 
above  given  can  be  applied. 

But  the  chaotic  changes  of  this  small  canvas 
were  not  yet  over.  It  had  to  share  the  fate  of 
many  other  famous  paintings.  It  was  seized  by 
the  French  and  brought  to  Paris  never  more  to 
revisit  Spain;  different  in  this  from  the  “Pearl,” 
which  it  had  followed  up  to  now  and  which 

(1)  Opere  di  Antonio  Mengs.  In  Bessano, 
MDCCL,  XXXIII,  Vol.  II,  page  75 


PARIS,  LOUVRE 


DAVID 


NAPOLEON  CROSSING  THE  ALPS 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  133 


again  found  its  way  to  the  old  Spanish  capital, 
where  it  still  remains. 

When  Spain  became  involved  in  the  Na- 
poleonic wars,  the  paintings  found  in  the  Escurial, 
the  Elcazar,  the  palaces  of  the  rich,  in  churches 
and  convents,  became  the  prey  of  the  invaders. 
It  would  lead  us  too  far  to  show  here  how  from 
1794  to  1815  a great  number  of  the  art  treasures 
of  the  invaded  countries  were  seized  as  booty  by 
the  French.  In  1794,  after  the  early  successes  of 
the  French  armies  of  the  Revolution,  the  first 
cartloads  of  art  treasures  came  from  Brussels, 
Belgium.  On  the  9 Thermidor,  of  the  year  VI 
of  the  Republic,  July  27,  1798,  a “Feast  of  the 
masterpieces”  was  celebrated.  (1)  The  art 
works  of  Italy  arrived  in  twenty-nine  cartloads. 
The  artists  of  the  Conservatory  accompanied  the 
long  train.  On  one  of  the  banners  the  following 
words  were  written: — 

Greece  has  yielded  up  and  Rome  could  not 
retain, 

Their  lot  has  now  changed  twice;  it  shall  not 
change  again. 

The  paintings  were  exhibited  in  the  Salle 
Carree  for  a while  and  then  assigned  to  the 

(1)  See  Lectures  pour  tous,  1914.  Conference  de  M. 
Henry  Roujon,  d l’Academie  frangaise,  Sur  Joachim  Le- 
breton,  premier  secretaire  de  l’Academie  des  Beaux-arts. 


134  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 

galleries  of  the  Louvre.  The  museum  was  soon 
overstocked,  and  still  new  treasures  arrived. 
They  were  sent  to  provincial  museums,  to  Lille, 
Cambrai,  Besangon;  new  museums  were  created 
even  in  invaded  countries,  at  Brussels,  Geneva, 
Antwerp,  Mainz.  Some  were  taken  back  by 
the  generals  who  had  seized  them.  Josephine, 
Napoleon’s  wife,  derived  quite  an  income  from 
the  sale  of  paintings  presented  to  her.  There 
was  a market  of  pictures  such  as  the  world  had 
never  seen.  At  the  downfall  of  Napoleon  only 
a small  number  could  be  recovered  by  the 
countries  to  which  they  formerly  belonged.  (1) 
Soult  had  been  very  active  in  Spain  in  picking 
up  art  treasures.  He  sent  agents  before  him 
with  Bermudez’s  Dictionary  of  Art  in  Spain  to 
locate  paintings  and  to  offer  a price:  “The 
Marshal  seized  the  objects  of  his  covetousness 
and  carefully  guarded  the  legality  of  their  titles 
by  forcing  their  owners  to  sign  fictitious  bills  of 
sale.  These  trophies  were  transferred  to  Soult’s 
house  in  Paris  and  for  many  years  afterwards 
the  thrifty  veteran  derived  a large  income  from 
selling  them,  one  by  one,  to  wealthy  English 
nobles.  Hundreds  of  other  pictures  had  been 
huddled  into  the  Elcazar  awaiting  transporta - 

(1)  Les  conqultes  artistiques  de  la  Revolution  et  de 
l’Empire,  par  Charles  Launier,  Paris,  1902. 


GERARD 


JOSEPH  BONAPARTE,  KING  OF  SPAIN 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  135 


tion  to  France;  but  the  sudden  retreat  of  the 
French  army  compelled  their  abandonment.”  (1) 
Some  cartloads  containing  paintings  of  the 
palaces  of  the  rich  in  Madrid  had  only  reached 
Bayonne  when  the  allies  entered  France.  At 
Napoleon’s  downfall  Soult  gave  over  to  the 
museum  some  paintings,  but  only  those  which 
he  deemed  lost  for  him  and  which  he  knew  would 
be  restored  to  their  rightful  owners. 

Our  Madonna  did  not  fall  into  his  hands  as 
did  the  famous  Immaculate  Conception  by  Murillo 
but  it  was  added  to  the  collection  of  Joseph 
Bonaparte,  King  of  Spain,  and  followed  its  new 
master  to  the  shores  of  America. 

(1)  Murillo,  by  M.  Sweetser,  Boston,  1877,  page  115. 


CHAPTER  X. 


The  Painting  ln  the  Hands  of  Joseph  Bona- 
parte. 

Joseph  Bonaparte  was  an  elder  brother  of 
the  Emperor.  An  ardent  admirer  of  Napoleon, 
he  was  devoted  to  him  as  only  a brother  can  be, 
accepting  from  his  hands  the  crown  of  Naples, 
to  change  it  at  his  request  for  that  of  Spain, 
in  1808.  As  King  of  Naples  he  gained  the  good 
will  of  his  subjects,  who  appreciated  his  good 
intentions  and  the  new  constitution  received  at 
his  hands.  In  Spain  he  hoped  to  do  the  same 
work.  He  met  the  Spanish  Junta  in  Bayonne. 
All  the  members  agreed  in  this,  “that  his  accept- 
ance of  the  throne  would  calm  all  troubles, 
assure  their  independence  of  the  monarchy,  the 
integrity  of  its  territory,  its  liberty  and  its 
happiness.”  A constitution  was  given  the 
country  similar  to  that  received  by  Naples,  and 
he  entered  Madrid,  July  20,  1808,  and  took  his 
residence  in  the  Escurial. 

The  new  king  soon  realized  his  difficult  posi- 
tion. Eighty  thousand  French  troops  were  not 
sufficient  to  quell  the  insurrections,  and  the 
great  Emperor  received  in  Spain  the  first  terrible 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


137 


blow  which  shattered  his  empire,  as  he  himself 
stated  later  in  St.  Helena. 

Joseph  Bonaparte  followed  the  example  of 
the  French  generals  and  made  a collection  of 
paintings,  statues  and  tapestries.  Thife  col- 
lection was  sold  bit  by  bit  and  proved  a great 
financial  resource  in  his  subsequent  difficulties. 
Some  of  his  paintings  were  on  his  estates. 
Others  were  sent  from  Spain  to  Paris  after  he  had 
taken  up  his  residence  in  the  Escurial.  There  he 
had  gathered  a large  collection.  Pie  was  liberal 
in  donating  paintings  to  friends  and  generals. 
After  the  battle  of  Almonacid  won  by  Sebastiani, 
Joseph  offered  him  congratulations  on  his  success, 
recommended  him  to  his  grPat  brother  and  as  a 
token  of  gratitude  presented  him  with  six  choice 
paintings  from  his  collection.  (1)  But  Joseph 
was  not  to  keep  all  the  art  treasures  he  had 
accumulated  in  the  Escurial.  When  he  left 
Spain,  his  paintings  were  in  his  baggage  train. 
They  were  captured  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 
The  English  general  acted  as  Joseph  had  done 
and  failed  to  restore  the  paintings  to  their 
rightful  owners,  but  shipped  them  off  to  London. 
Some  of  these  paintings  are  today  on  the  walls 
of  Wellington’s  Apsley  House,  in  London. 

(1)  Bigarre,  aide-de-camp  du  roi  Joseph;  Memoires, 
page  256. 


138  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 

The  capture  of  this  baggage  train  explains  why 
Joseph  owned  a relatively  small  gallery.  In  his 
wanderings  from  one  country  to  another,  in  his 
position  as  King  of  Naples  and  later  of  Spain,  he 
we  had  rare  opportunities  to  enrich  his  gallery,  but 
find  in  it  only  one  hundred  and  seventy  paintings 
the  greater  number  of  which  were  inferior  works. 

Our  Madonna  was  in  the  Escurial  with  other 
art  treasures.  He  simply  appropriated  the 
painting  and  sent  it  to  France.  Before  it  was 
forwarded  to  one  of  his  estates  it  probably  was 
sent  to  the  Louvre  for  exhibition.  The  day 
arrived  when  the  marriage  ceremony  between 
Napoleon  and  Marie  Louise  took  place;  it  was 
celebrated  in  the  “Salle  Carree”  of  the  Louvre. 
The  hymeneal  procession  wound  its  way  from 
the  Tuileries  through  the-  long  gallery  leading  to 
said  apartment.  For  the  adornment  of  these 
rooms  exquisite  paintings  were  required,  some 
of  them  of  a devotional  character;  we  are  free 
to  suppose  that  the  Madonna  Gonzaga  had  a 
prominent  place  among  them. 

Either  the  original  or  a copy  of  the  Madonna 
was  sure  to  create  a sensation  in  those  times, 
for  the  composition  was  profusely  reproduced 
by  the  new  process  of  lithography  discovered 
some  ten  years  before. 

One  of  these  lithographs  bears  an  inscrip- 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  139 


tion  in  French  and  German:  ‘‘From  the  gal- 

lery of  the  Duke  of  Leuchtenberg  in  Munich, 
Painted  by  Murillo.”  The  original,  on  canvas, 
is  2'  10"  high  and  2'  2"  wide.  There  exists  in 
the  gallery  of  the  Duke  of  Leuchtenberg  in  St. 
Petersburg  a copy  of  the  Madonna  Gonzaga 
known  by  the  name  of  Madonna  Leuchtenberg. 
On  this  copy,  by  some  crude  folds  the  mono- 
gram of  Raphael  is  imitated  in  such  a manner 
as  to  make  it  evident  that  the  copyist  did  not 
understand  the  meaning  of  that  signature. 
The  painting  is  not  quite  so  large  as  the  original. 
This  copy  was  formerly  attributed  to  Murillo. 
It  may  have  come  from  Spain,  but  is  it  by  the 
hand  of  the  Spanish  painter  of  the  Madonna? 

When  paintings  formerly  belonging  to  Charles 
I arrived  in  Spain  and  were  hung  on  the  walls 
of  the  Escurial,  few  years  had  passed  since 
Murillo  was  copying  works  of  great  masters  in 
the  galleries  of  the  same  palace.  He  had  come 
to  Madrid  to  ask  Velasquez  for  help  and  advice. 
The  court  painter  received  him  cordially  and 
enabled  him  to  study  the  works  of  Titian, 
Van  Dyck  and  other  great  masters,  in  the 
Escurial.  Whether  he  came  later,  after  the 
arrival  of  the  paintings  from  England,  we  do 
not  know. 

Painting  the  Madonna  was  with  him  a passion. 


140  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


The  Leuchtenberg  painting,  attributed  for  a 
long  time  to  Murillo,  is  by  the  hand  of  a Spanish 
master.  It  probably  fell  into  the  hands  of  one 
of  the  French  generals  who  had  invaded  Spain 
at  the  head  of  the  French  armies.  It  was 
probably  presented  to  Josephine,  the  Empress, 
who  turned  it  over  to  her  son,  Eugene  Beau- 
harnais.  Eugene  married  the  eldest  daughter 
of  the  King  of  Bavaria  and  settled  in  Munich 
after  the  treaty  of  Vienna,  assuming  the  titles 
of  Duke  of  Leuchtenberg  and  Prince  of  Eich- 
staet.  Fie  owned  a fairly  good  collection  of 
paintings.  The  copy  of  the  Madonna  Gonzaga 
thus  received  the  name  of  Madonna  Leuchten- 
berg. This  painting  is  mentioned  in  two  cata- 
logues of  the  gallery,  dating  from  1835  and  1837. 

This  copy  in  turn  was  reproduced  many 
times.  There  are  slight  variations  from  the 
original.  The  figures  are  adapted  to  the  Spanish 
type, — their  faces  are  rounder,  the  necks  shorter 
than  on  the  original . The  rays  of  light  beaming 
forth  from  behind  the  Child’s  head  are  more 
extended,  as  we  find  them  on  Murillo’s  paintings 
of  the  Child.  A great  master  copying  some 
famous  painting  invariably  brings  the  figures 
nearer  the  types  of  his  own  conception  or  of 
his  own  country. 

The  copy  always  belonged  to  a gallery  and 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


141 


is  better  known  than  the  original,  which  dis- 
appeared before  an  extensive  study  of  the 
works  of  Raphael  was  made.  We  can  thus 
partly  explain  how  this  composition  passed  for 
that  of  Murillo.  Other  masters  may  have 
copied  the  Madonna  Gonzaga.  Rubens  was  in 
the  service  of  the  Duke  of  Mantua  from  1600 
to  1608;  there  he  studied  the  masterpieces 
of  the  Gonzaga  collection.  Van  Dyck  saw  the 
same  painting  in  Hampton  Court.  A copy  of 
the  Madonna  Gonzaga  has  been  found  in  Bos- 
ton; it  is  attributed  to  Van  Dyck  by  family 
tradition.  Some  day  a copy  belonging  to 
Rubens  may  be  unearthed;  it  would  be  interest- 
ing to  see  how  Rubens  treated  this  subject. 
Titian  copied  Raphael’s  portrait  of  Julius  II, 
and  the  copy  is  so  perfect  that  the  identity  of 
the  original  is  a very  perplexing  question  for 
art  critics.  Rubens  himself  copied  the  Euro  pa 
of  Titian,  now  in  Mrs.  Gardner’s  gallery,  Boston, 
and  the  copy  is  preserved  in  the  Prado  Museum, 
in  Madrid. 

Another  reason  why  this  composition  is  attri- 
buted to  Murillo  is  the  following:  Joseph 
Bonaparte  knew  he  had  in  his  collection  a 
Madonna  by  Raphael,  but  he  did  not  know 
which  was  which.  So  he  attributed  to  Sanzio  a 
painting  of  the  Madonna,  which  does  not  belong 


142  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


to  that  master ; while  the  real  Raphael  was 
ascribed  to  Murillo,  the  great  Spanish  painter 
of  the  Madonna.  In  an  inventory  of  his  col- 
lection drawn  up  by  himself  we  read:  “$3,000. 
Une  Vierge  avec  l’Enfant-mosaique  ovale — 
Raphael,  bois.”  Decidely  his  so-called  Raphael 
is  not  highly  prized  by  him,  since  he  has  on  the 
same  list  a Titian  appraised  at  $15,000;  a Murillo 
at  $15,000,  and  a Raphael  Mengs  at  $15,000. 

What  became  of  this  so-called  Raphael?  It 
was  sold  to  Lord  Ashburton.  If  now  we  go 
through  Lord  Ashburton’s  collection  recorded 
by  Kugler,  about  1845,  some  ten  years  after  the 
sale  of  the  painting  in  question,  we  do  not  find 
there  one  single  work  by  Raphael.  (1) 

Very  simply  the  error  was  soon  discovered  by 
English  connoisseurs,  and  the  painting  was 
attributed  to  some  other  master.  Joseph  Bona- 
parte was  no  connoisseur.  He  had  probably  the 
first  gallery  of  some  importance  that  ever  was 
brought  to  these  States.  Of  this  collection  two 
inventories  have  been  found.  The  first  one  is 
by  the  hands  of  Joseph  himself.  His  main 
object  in  it  was  to  see  what  he  could  realize  on 
his  paintings.  According  to  his  calculations 
they  might  bring  him  the  sum  of  722,000  francs. 

(1)  See  Kugler,  Handbuch  der  Geschichte  der  Malerei, 
vol.  iii,  page  346. 


THE  CHILD  CHRIST  AND  ST, 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


143 


From  his  valuation  as  well  as  from  the  titles 
and  attribution  to  master  and  school  we  see  that 
he  had  little  knowledge  of  art.  At  that  time 
books  on  art  were  few,  the  history  of  art  but  in 
its  infancy  and,  the  Spanish  artists  at  least, 
just  known  by  name  outside  their  own  country. 

The  second  catalogue  was  drawn  up  after  his 
death,  for  a sale  which  took  place  at  Borden  - 
town,  on  Sept.  18,  1845.  The  collection  was  at 
that  time  sorely  depleted.  Joseph  had  either 
donated  to  friends  or  sold  some  thirty-three  paint- 
ings and  had  taken  with  him  to  Europe  in  1836, 
twenty-six  works  of  the  greatest  masters.  What 
remained  of  the  gallery  was  catalogued  carefully 
for  this  Bordentown  sale.  We  find  here  much 
valuable  information  about  the  gallery,  though 
not  enough  to  reconstruct  it  in  its  entirety.  We 
find  masters  with  whose  works  Joseph  did  not 
seem  to  be  acquainted;  Rembrandt,  Guercino, 
Bassano,  Sebastian  del  Piombo,  Ruysdael,  Ter- 
burgh,  to  mention  only  the  most  famous.  He 
was  not  able  to  distinguish  between  a copy,  a 
school  work,  and  the  original.  In  certain  cases 
he  did  not  read  the  signature  correctly;  thus  we 
find  “Laniesse”  for  “Lairesse,”  “Coyret”  for 
“Coy pel.”  Sometimes  he  learns  it  from  his 

visitors.  In  a letter  of  his  we  find  this  very 
name  of  Coypel  mentioned  correctly  when  the 


144  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


painting  in  question  is  presented  to  General 
Cadwalader,  in  1839,  just  before  Joseph’s  second 
trip  to  Europe,  whence  he  was  never  to  return. 

From  the  different  valuations  too  we  see  how 
little  Joseph  knew  about  art. 

In  the  list  just  mentioned  (1)  we  find  two 
paintings  by  Joseph  Vernet,  now  in  the  Academy 
of  Fine  Arts  in  Philadelphia.  They  are  both 
appraised  at  25,000  francs.  A Mary  Magdalen 
by  Titian  is  valued  at  the  same  sum.  It  does 
not  require  great  knowledge  of  art  to  know  that 
Joseph  Vernet  cannot  rank  with  Titian,  espe- 
cially if  the  work  in  question  was  the  Mary 
Magdalen  ordered  by  Isabella  d’Este  and  men- 
tioned with  such  enthusiasm  in  one  of  her 
letters  that  she  looked  upon  it  as  the  best  paint- 
ing then  in  existence. 

Joseph  Bonaparte  was  not  acquainted  with 
Murillo’s  works.  Though  he  appraised  St.  John 
in  the  Desert  by  Murillo  at  40,000  francs,  and 
two  Madonnas  by  the  same  painter  at  20,000 
francs  each,  he  attributed  three  landscapes  to 
the  same  painter,  valued  two  at  1000  francs 
each,  the  third  at  but  200  francs  ($40).  How  he 
ever  thought  of  ascribing  those  three  landscapes 
to  Murillo  we  cannot  understand.  If  the 

(1)  See  Joseph  Bonaparte  en  Amerique,  par  Georges 
Bertin,  Paris,  1893,  pages  416-422 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  145 


number  141,  Pay  sage  noir , Murillo,  is  the 
Moonlight  Landscape , sold  in  1845  with  the 
remnants  of  his  collection,  it  belonged  to  the 
Italian  school.  Our  Madonna  being  from  that 
time  on  attributed  to  Murillo,  we  have  to  look 
it  up  under  that  name  in  the  catalogue  of  Joseph’s 
collection.  Here  at  once  a strange  fact  strikes 
us:  viz.  the  sale  shortly  after  the  arrival  of  his 
paintings  in  America  of  a Madonna  and  Child 
attributed  to  Murillo. 

This  shipment  occurred  after  the  mansion  of 
Point  Breeze  in  New  Jersey  had  been  bought 
and  fitted  for  occupancy.  Before  that  time  the 
collection  was  scattered  among  the  different 
estates  belonging  to  Joseph.  The  most  valuable 
of  these  was  the  Castle  of  Mortefontaine  or 
Morfontaine,  six  miles  from  Senlis,  and  known 
in  these  States  from  a treaty  signed  there 
between  France  and  the  United  States  Sept.  30, 
1800.  Another  estate  was  that  of  Survilliers, 
from  which  Joseph  after  his  abdication  as  King 
of  Spain  assumed  the  title  Count  of  Survilliers. 
After  Napoleon’s  first  adbication,  Joseph  bought 
a villa  on  the  shores  of  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  the 
estate  of  Prangins.  Here  he  carried  his  jewels 
and  the  greater  part  of  his  art  treasures.  His 
collection  of  paintings  was  composed  of  some  170 
pieces  belonging  to  all  schools.  There  were  some 


146  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 

gems  among  them.  The  greatest  names  were 
represented  by  at  least  one  work:  Raphael, 
Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Correggio,  Velasquez.  He 
owned  three  paintings  by  Titian  and  seven  by 
Rubens  or  his  school.  The  name  of  Murillo 
occurs  seven  times  in  the  list.  We  see  that  the 
Escurial  had  furnished  the  choicest  part  of  his 
collection.  Then  we  find  the  names  of  Temiers, 
Snyders,  Giordana  Lucca,  who  had  many 
paintings  in  the  Escurial,  and  others. 

The  arrival  of  Joseph  Bonaparte  in  this 
country  reads  like  fiction.  “A  few  hours  before 
embarking  on  the  French  brig  which  was  to 
take  him  to  the  United  States,  Joseph  sent 
Mailliard  to  the  Emperor,  with  a letter  again 
urging  his  brother  to  exchange  places  and  make 
his  escape  from  France  in  Joseph’s  vessel. 
But  Napoleon  replied  verbally  to  the  messenger: 
‘Tell  my  brother  that  I have  well  considered  his 
offer,  and  that  I cannot  accept  it.  It  would 
seem  like  flying  away  from  danger;  besides,  I 
could  not  leave  behind  me  so  many  brave  officers 
who  have  sacrificed  everything  for  me.  Tell 
my  brother  that  I hope  he  will  escape  the 
cruisers  of  England,  and  arrive  safely.’ 

“Joseph  on  receiving  this  last  answer,  sailed 
immediately  for  America.  Had  Napoleon  ac- 
cepted, he  would  probably  have  reached  New 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  147 


York  safely,  as  every  precaution  had  been  taken 
to  avoid  detection.  The  vessel  selected  was  a 
small  common  looking  brig,  the  'Commerce,’ 
of  two  hundred  tons,  loaded  with  a cargo  of 
Bordeaux  wines  for  a market.  She  was  a fast 
sailer,  and  was  strongly  built,  and  was  command- 
ed by  a skilful  captain,  Messervey,  a Swede  by 
birth.  Although  three  times  on  the  high  seas  the 
brig  was  stopped  and  searched  by  English  frigates, 
which  were  on  the  lookout  for  Napoleon,  the 
passports  and  papers  of  the  passengers  on  board 
had  been  so  carefully  prepared  under  fictitious 
names  that  they  were  not  discovered.  The 
captain  of  the  brig  did  not  even  know  who  they 
were  until  a few  days  after  Joseph  had  landed 
in  New  York. 

"The  newspapers  having  published  an  account 
of  his  successful  escape,  and  given  the  name  of 
the  vessel,  the  poor  captain  could  hardly  con- 
tain himself,  and  called  at  once  on  Louis  Mail- 
liard,  who  assured  him  that  it  was  true,  and 
presented  him,  in  all  formality,  to  King  Joseph. 
‘But  why  did  you  not  tell  me?’  said  he,  ‘I  never 
would  have  betrayed  him.’  Mailliard  had  to 
explain  to  him  that  it  was  best  to  conceal  the 
real  names  and  positions  of  his  passengers  for 
fear  that  he  might  have  shown  some  hesitation 
or  less  assurance  when  boarded  by  the  English 


148  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


officers.  ‘I  think  you  were  right,’  said  the 
captain.  ‘I  would  have  sunk  my  vessel  rather 
than  let  them  come  on  board;  you  were  right.’ 
Joseph  was  very  much  amused  by  his  demon- 
stration of  Bonapartism,  and  sent  him  a very 
handsome  present  to  show  that  he  had  appre- 
ciated his  treatment  on  board.”  (1) 

At  first  Joseph  took  up  his  residence  in  Phila- 
delphia at  “Bingham  Hotel,”  a mansion  which 
at  one  time  had  been  the  residence  of  John  Penn, 
the  last  Colonial  Governor  of  Pennsylvania. 
At  the  close  of  the  Revolution  this  property  was 
bought  by  Mr.  Bingham,  grandfather  of  Lord 
Ashburton,  who  was  to  buy  a number  of  paint- 
ings from  Joseph  later  on.  It  is  said  that  Na- 
poleon himself,  unrolling  one  day  a map  of  the 
United  States  and  placing  his  finger  on  a spot 
on  the  banks  of  the  Deleware,  made  the  remark: 
“If  I am  ever  forced  to  fly  to  America,  I shall 
settle  somewhere  between  Philadelphia  and 
New  York,  where  I can  receive  the  earliest 
intelligence  from  France  by  ships  arriving  at 
either  port.”  This  may  have  been  the  reason 
for  Joseph’s  choice  of  Borden  town  as  his  per- 
manent place  of  residence.  The  State  of  New 
Jersey  granted  him  the  right  to  possess  real 

(1)  Bonaparte’s  Park  and  the  Murats,  by  E.  M.  Wood- 
ward, Trenton,  N.  J.,  1879,  pages  32,  33. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  149 


estate  without  being  a citizen,  and  the  estate 
of  Point  Breeze  being  for  sale,  Joseph  purchased 
the  property  and  soon  made  improvements  on 
it  to  the  amount  of  $900,000. 

While  his  first  residence  was  being  prepared 
he  sent  for  his  art  treasures  scattered  among 
the  castles  and  villas  owned  by  him  in  the  Old 
World,  in  Mortefontaine,  Prangins  and  else- 
where. (1)  The  first  residence  was  partly  de- 
stroyed by  fire  on  January  3,  1820,  through  the 
negligence  of  a guest  who  left  a wood  fire  burn- 
ing in  his  room,  locked  the  door  and  took  the 
key  with  him.  But  the  fire  was  soon  discovered 
and  all  valuables  saved.  Joseph  then  built 
another  mansion,  more  beautiful  than  the  first 
one. 

“Nowhere  in  the  State  could  a more  charming 
site  be  found.  For  nearly  a mile,  the  Cross- 
wicks Creek  winds  along  the  northern  boundary 
of  the  park,  fifty  feet  below  the  level  of  the 
promontory  from  which,  more  than  a century 
ago,  the  grounds  received  this  name.  On  this 
promontory  Joseph  built  his  house,  command- 
ing a fine  view  of  the  Deleware,  and,  in  its  leafy 
settlings,  conspicuous  to  all  who  journeyed  up 
and  down  the  stream.  Months  were  spent  in 
clearing  the  woods  of  underbrush,  rolling  the 

(1)  Georges  Bertin,  1.  c.,  page  420. 


150  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 

lawn,  bridging  ravines,  building  summer  houses 
and  rustic  seats  and  laying  out  walks  and 
drives.  A strip  of  marshy  ground  separated 
the  point  from  the  wood-crowned  height  at  the 
western  extremity  of  the  park.  Through  this 
the  creek  ebbed  and  flowed  as  far  as  the  Trenton 
road,  where  it  was  fed  by  a shallow  winding 
brook.  Joseph  threw  a bridge  across  the  bed  of 
the  brook,  filled  up  the  hollow  in  the  highway 
and  transformed  the  marsh  into  a pretty  lake. 
By  the  waterside,  where  the  grassy  bank  was 
lowest,  stood  a large  white  house  with  grass- 
green  shutters, — the  residence  of  Prince  Charles 
and  his  wife  Zenaide.  Elsewhere,  save  only  on 
the  willow-shaded  causeway  between  the  lake 
and  creek,  the  ground  rose  abruptly  to  the 
level  of  the  park.  There  were  scattered  about 
other  dwellings  and  outhouses,  and  beyond  was 
an  inclosure  well  stocked  with  graceful  deer. 
All  around  rose  thousands  of  forest  trees,  arch- 
ing over  the  drives  and  bridle-paths,  filling  the 
ravines  with  dark,  dense  foliage,  and  sheltering 
the  hillside  down  to  the  border  of  the  creek. 
There  nature  was  left  untouched,  for  art  could 
add  nothing  to  her  charms.”  (1) 

With  regard  to  his  own  dwelling-house  we 

(1)  Bordentown  and  the  Bonapartes,  Scribner’s 
Monthly,  vol.  xxi,  page  34. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  151 


read  that  he  erected  a vast  edifice  on  the  plan 
of  an  Italian  palace,  with  a courtyard  open  on 
one  side.  This  superb  mansion  was  enriched 
with  his  entire  collection  of  paintings,  busts, 
statues,  precious  stones,  ancient  relics,  and 
curiosities,  which  he  had  collected  in  France, 
Italy  and  Spain.  Every  luxury  which  wealth 
could  purchase  and  every  thing  contributing 
to  comfort  and  taste  which  art,  learning,  and 
refinement  could  suggest,  adorned  and  embel- 
lished this  palatial  seat  of  hospitality.  At 
Bordentown  alone  he  expended  on  his  estate 
nearly  a million  dollars.  (1) 

Alas!  little  is  left  now  of  that  former  splendor. 
The  Count’s  house  is  gone.  The  gardener’s 
house  and  the  cook’s  remain,  while  the  lake- 
house  (the  lake  itself  no  longer  exists)  has  been 
converted  into  a summer  boarding  house.  Many 
of  the  trees  have  been  cut  down,  the  lawn  is 
unkept,  and  there  are  few  traces  of  the  former 
beauty  of  the  place.  (2) 

Here  he  entertained  many  guests  and  to  one 
of  them  he  must  have  sold  the  Madonna  Gon- 
zaga. While  Joseph  was  at  Bordentown  his 
art  treasures  were  not  lost  to  the  world,  for 

(1)  The  Napo  eon  Dynasty,  by  the  Berkeley  Men$ 
N.  Y.,  1856,  page  387. 

(2)  Bordentown  and  the  Bonapartes.  lb,  page  45. 


152  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 

during  his  long  exile  he  had  many  visitors, 
among  them  the  most  eminent  Americans  of 
the  day — Webster,  Adams,  and  Clay,  Com- 
modore Stewart,  General  Scott,  and  Commodore 
Richard  Stockton.  (1)  Moreover  some  of  his 
choice  paintings  were  exhibited  in  Philadelphia 
and  New  York.  Raphael  Meng’s  “Nativity” 
taken  from  the  altar  of  a Spanish  cathedral, 
the  Murillos  and  a few  others  were  thus  shown 
to  the  admiring  public  of  the  two  cities.  That 
the  Madonna  Gonzaga  was  for  a while  in  Phila- 
delphia we  know  from  the  fact  that  a mezzotint 
copy  of  the  painting  was  made  there.  Two 
specimens  of  this  mezzotint  can  be  seen  in 
Ryan  and  Duffee’s  studio,  Boston.  The  first  one 
that  was  found  had  only  the  picture;  the  in- 
scription was  cut  out.  It  was  at  first  looked 
upon  as  a French  mezzotint.  Then  the  second 
one  was  discovered.  It  bears  the  following 
inscription,  “ Mary  and  the  Infant  Christ , Phila- 
delphia. In  offlcina  B.  V.  inspr.  Published  by 
the  N.  A.  Bibliographic  Institution,  Reynolds 
del.  Gaiger  sculp.”  The  name  of  the  painter  is 
unfortunately  erased.  It  is  a better  copy  than 
the  European  lithographs  of  the  same  time. 
The  composition  i§  rendered  so  carefully  in  all 
details,  that  the  artist  while  at  his  painstaking 
(1)  lb.  page  38. 


BOSTON 


MADONNA  GONZAGA 

(PHILADELPHIA  MEZZOTINT) 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


153 


work  must  have  had  the  original  before  him. 
This  confirms  our  theory  that  No.  9 of  the 
inventory,  Virgin  and  Child,  attributed  to 
Murillo,  was  our  painting. 

When  Joseph  thought  of  turning  his  entire 
collection  into  money,  he  made  up  a first  list 
of  the  paintings,  appraising  them  at  their  sup- 
posed value.  The  estimation  of  the  entire 
collection  was  a sum  of  722,000  francs.  Two 
paintings  were  gone  already,  numbers  9 and  11: 
“9 — Une  Vierge  avec  l’Enfant,  Murillo,  ce  no. 
est  nul,  il  est  parti.  11 — Une  cuisiniere,  ce  no. 
est  nul,  il  est  parti.”  Joseph  Bonaparte  owned 
two  more  Madonnas  by  Murillo.  Both  were 
taken  to  London  in  1836  where  they  found  a 
ready  market.  It  must  be  admitted  that  the 
third  one*  this  No.  9,  was  the  Madonna  Gonzaga. 
The  family,  from  which  it  was  purchased  in  our 
days,  passed  from  father  to  son  the  tradition 
that  the  Madonna  bought  from  them  by  Mr. 
P.  E.  Duffee  was  purchased  by  one  of  their 
ancestors  from  a member  of  the  Napoleonic 
house.  We  have  therefore  four  facts  from  which 
we  may  safely  conclude  that  the  Boston  picture 
belonged  to  Joseph  Bonaparte’s  collection  in  his 
mansion  of  Point  Breeze,  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Philadelphia.  From  copies  we  know  that  the 
Madonna  in  question  passed  at  that  time  as  a 


154  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


painting  by  Murillo;  from  Joseph’s  collection 
one  Madonna  and  Child  attributed  to  Murillo 
was  sold  in  the  States;  a tradition  exists  that 
the  Boston  painting  was  purchased  from  a 
member  of  Napoleon’s  family;  the  fourth  is 
this,  that  this  same  picture  must  have  been  in 
Philadelphia  in  the  early  part  of  last  century, 
for  it  was  copied  there,  and  this  mezzotint  copy 
is  of  all  old  copies  the  one  which  comes  nearest 
the  original  composition. 

Joseph  Bonaparte  when  he  entered  this 
country  needed  funds.  He  turned  into  cash 
anything  he  could  sell.  Queen  Julie,  his  wife, 
was  at  Brussels  preparing  for  the  marriage 
celebration  of  her  eldest  daughter  Zenaide. 
The  dowry  was  to  be  700,000  francs.  To  find 
this  sum  the  Queen  first  sold  Joseph’s  sword  for 
1 07,000  francs.  (1)  Then  she  offered  for  sale 
the  estate  of  Prangins  for  a sum  of  500,000 
francs.  The  ex-king  himself  disposed  by  and 
by  of  the  jewels  seized  in  the  Spanish  capital. 
‘'Many  of  the  crown  jewels  of  Spain  were  still 
in  his  possession.  They  were  guarded  with 
jealous  care.  The  visitors  were  admitted  to 
the  room  where  they  lay  concealed,  but  one 
who  had  that  mark  of  favor  shown  her  wrote 

(1)  See.: — Le  roi  Joseph  Bonaparte,  lettres  cTexile 
nedites,  page  57. 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


155 


as  follows:  ‘Several  clusters  looked  like  jeweled 

handles  of  swords;  others,  like  portions  of 
crowns,  rudely  broken  off;  others  still,  like  lids 
of  small  boxes;  many  were  entire  ornaments. 
He  (Joseph)  showed  us  the  crown  and  ring  he 
wore  when  King  of  Spain;  also  the  crown,  robe 
and  jewels  in  which  Napoleon  was  crowned.’  ”(1) 
His  property  of  Mortefontaine  passed  also  into 
other  hands.  With  the  funds  thus  raised  he 
paid  for  his  acquisitions  in  the  New  World,  but 
still  he  had  to  part  with  many  of  his  paintings. 
He  himself  lived  beyond  his  income,  and  his 
brother,  the  fallen  Emperor,  needed  help  in 
St.  Helena. 

As  soon  as  Joseph  had  settled  in  Point  Breeze, 
he  inquired  about  Napoleon’s  welfare.  The 
faithful  Las  Casas  notified  him  about  his  brother’s 
distress  in  St.  Helena  in  a letter  written  from 
Frankfort,  February  21,  1818.  “Sire,  your 
august  brother,  on  my  forced  parting  from  him, 
was  in  a wretched  condition  in  every  respect. 
His  health  was  poor,  his  soul  alone  was  impassible 
and  rose  above  adversity  and  ill-treatment.  He 
lacked  the  very  necessities  of  life.  Every  month 
he  was  obliged  to  break  some  piece  of  his  silver- 
ware to  make  up  for  the  small  allowance  granted 
by  the  English.”  (2)  Joseph  sent  the  faithful 

(1)  Scribner’s  1.  c.,  page  37. 

(2)  Memoires  du  roi  Joseph,  V.  X.,  page  249. 


156  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 

count  a check  of  £1000  to  reimburse  funds 
loaned  to  Napoleon  who,  it  is  stated  in  a letter 
of  August  16th,  of  the  same  year,  needed  for 
his  expenses  a yearly  sum  of  150,000  francs. 

Thus  by  and  by  over  thirty  paintings  disap- 
peared from  the  gallery  of  Point  Breeze;  most  of 
them  were  sold ; some  few  given  as  presents,  such 
as  the  “Europe”  by  Noel  Coypel;  one  of  them, 
“The  Boar  Hunt”  by  Snyders,  may  be  the  one 
now  on  exhibition  in  the  Boston  Museum  of 
Fine  Arts.  It  had  been  sold  in  Europe  to  the 
Duke  of  Durcal,  in  1836,  and  was  later  bought 
by  an  American  family.  On  his  first  trip  to 
England  he  took  with  him  some  choice  pieces 
which  found  a ready  market  in  London.  The 
remaining  part  of  his  collection  was  sold  at 
auction,  September  17  and  18,  1845,  at  Borden- 
town.  Some  of  these  paintings  are  now  in  The 
Academy  of  Fine  Arts  in  Philadelphia. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


The  Painting  in  Boston. 

Why  our  Madonna  was  so  long  hidden  in 
the  Puritan  city  of  Boston  has  been  explained 
by  Dr.  Gifford,  Rector  of  the  Brookline  Baptist 
Church,  in  his  Christmas  sermon  of  1913:  “The 
picture  was  brought  from  Paris  to  the  United 
States  and  found  a resting  place  in  New  Eng- 
land. A resting  place,  not  a home  for  many 
years;  a home  is  a question  of  atmosphere  quite 
as  much  as  of  housing.  When  the  picture 
reached  New  England  the  teeth  of  Protestantism 
were  on  edge  against  anything  belonging  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  The  Puritan  Fathers 
had  eaten  sour  grapes  and  their  children’s  teeth 
were  on  edge.  Our  Puritan  ancestors  had  many 
virtues;  love  of  art  was  not  one  of  them;  pa- 
tience with  those  whose  religious  convictions 
differed  from  their  own  had  small  place  among 
our  fathers. 

No  dim  religious  light 
Through  windows  richly  dight 


158  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 

fell  on  the  Puritan  worshipper ; he  wanted  white 
light  on  manuscript  sermons;  ear-gates  were 
wide  open.  The  beauty  of  holiness  ‘did  not 
include  form  and  color.  Art  is  long  and  outlasts 
prejudices;  environment  modifies  heredity;  the 
children  of  the  Puritan  love  art  and  beauty. 
The  Holy  Family  is  one  of  the  finest  paintings 
in  Boston.  At  a time  when  movies  reproduce 
the  shifting  stage,  it  is  well  to  turn  again  to  the 
art  that  pictures  the  One  who  is  the  same  yes- 
terday, today  and  forever.” 

The  Madonna  Gonzaga  remained  immured 
during  three  generations;  the  last  one  was  born 
and  bred  under  the  very  roof  where  the  painting 
remained  hidden,  hardly  knew  of  its  existence 
and  had  never  seen  it.  “Works  of  art  acquired 
by  a parent,  prized  by  a son,  tolerated  by  a 
grandson,  are  often  neglected  and  scattered  by 
his  descendants.”  Those  words  by  Sir  Martin 
Conway  come  true  once  more.  It  fell  to  the 
lot  of  a portraitist  of  the  city  of  Boston,  Mr. 
Patrick  E.  Duffee,  to  restore  this  masterpiece 
to  the  art  world.  Gifted  with  a vast  experience 
in  matters  of  art  and  with  great  ability  to 
trace  a painting  back  to  the  school  and  the 
artist  to  whom  it  is  to  be  attributed,  he  had  the 
first  idea  of  the  loss  of  the  Madonna  Gonzaga 
in  Europe.  An  engraving  of  the  painting  was 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  15$ 


shown  him.  “Here,”  he  said,  “is  a lost  Madonna 
by  Raphael.”  From  that  moment  he  was  on 
the  lookout. 

Let  us  now  quote  Mr.  Duffee’s  own  words  in 
an  interview  published  by  the  Philadelphia 
Ledger,  June  29,  1913:  “Being  a lover  of  art,  of 
course  1 determined  to  keep  my  eyes  open  in 
the  hope  of  stumbling  on  the  painting  some  day. 
I do  not  claim  that  I had  the  slightest  hope  of 
finding  it  in  Boston,  however.  The  way  I did 
stumble  on  it  was  through  an  invitation  to  take 
Sunday  supper  with  a gentleman  of  artistic 
taste.  Though  I had  known  him  for  some 
years,  I had  never  gone  to  his  house. 

“On  this  occasion  I noticed  a Van  Dyck  on 
the  walls  and  asked  where  it  came  from.  My 
host  replied  that  it  had  been  brought  from 
New  Orleans  by  his  uncle,  an  artist,  who  had 
inherited  it  from  his  father.  I asked  if  they 
had  any  other  paintings,  never  dreaming  , of 
course,  of  Raphael’s  lost  Madonna.  The  reply 
was  rather  careless,  to  the  effect  that  there  was 
one  more  in  the  garret. 

‘Of  course  I asked  to  see  it.  My  host  took 
me  at  once  to  the  garret,  or  at  least  to  the  door. 
That  door  had  not  been  opened  in  so  long  that 
we  had  to  work  for  a long  time  to  get  it  unlocked. 
We  poured  kerosene  in  the  lock  and  after  con- 


160  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


siderable  time  got  it  open.  There  was  a quantity 
of  valuable  and  beautiful  ornaments  of  one  sort 
or  another,  but  this  was  the  only  painting.  It 
did  not  take  very  long  to  convince  me  that  I 
had  stumbled  upon  the  lost  Raphael  or  the  finest 
copy  that  had  ever  been  made  of  that  great 
artist’s  work!” 

From  the  day  of  its  reappearance,  the  paint- 
ing by  its  marvelous  beauty  created  a great 
sensation.  The  Boston  papers,  The  Post,  The 
Globe,  The  Transcript,  hailed  its  discovery. 
We  read  in  the  Boston  Sunday  Globe,  March  3, 
1912,  “Certainly  the  painting  of  this  Madonna’s 
face  and  the  face  of  the  Christ  Child  must  have 
been  done  by  a great  master — a master  of 
technique  and  a genius  in  the  revelation  of  a 
beauty  that  well  might  be  called  divine.  The 
color  harmony  is  exquisite  and  the  manner  in 
which  the  reds,  blues,  yellows  and  greens  are 
blended  in  this  picture  show  a master  mind 
behind  it.  But  it  is  the  wonderful  expression 
in  the  face  that  attracts  the  most  attention — 
especially  the  expression  in  the  face  of  the 
Christ  Child.  One  must  come  back  to  that 
word  divine  in  describing  it.” 

The  Boston  Evening  Transcript,  September 
21,  1912,  describes  it  in  the  words  of  Nathan 
Haskell  Dole:  “One  might  almost  believe  that 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


161 


the  rose  colored  bodice  had  been  dipped  in 
living  roses.  The  lovely  folds  of  the  outer  gar- 
ments are  of  the  blue  of  heaven  itself,  and  the 
flesh  tints  deserve  only  the  name  of  immaculate, 
significant  of  the  divine  soul  that  animates  the 
faces  of  mother  and  boy.  But  in  a Madonna 
one  looks  for  the  expression.  What  a marvelous 
mingling  of  the  sweet  pride  of  motherhood  with 
the  infinite  foreboding  that  is  veiled  under  the 
tender  lids  and  curves  the  mouth  with  thoughts 
too  deep  for  utterance!  Most  of  Raphael’s 
Infant  Christs  are  painted  without  clothing. 
This,  perhaps  the  solitary  exception,  is  com- 
pletely draped.  The  pure  white  of  the  little 
garment  seems  to  be  symbolical.  The  sleeve 
is  turned  up  just  above  the  wrist  and  the  chubby 
hands  are  crossed  in  an  attitude  of  natural 
devotion.  The  right  foot  rests  on  the  mother’s 
left  hand.  The  absolute  simplicity  of  the  whole 
pose,  the  freedom  from  anything  affected  or 
sophisticated,  is  one  of  the  great  charms  of  this 
wonderful  picture.  The  mother’s  face  is  of  the 
most  perfect  oval,  and  is  not  of  too  marked 
Italian  type.  Indeed,  one  might  see  in  it  just  a 
hint  of  the  loveliest  characteristics  of  a young 
Hebrew  woman,  especially  in  the  rather  long 
but  still  delicate  nose,  with  its  graceful  curves 
and  sensitive  nostrils.  The  Child  is  chubby 


162  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


and  human,  with  wide  eyes  and  lovely  lips, 
serious,  as  befits  His  Divine  origin,  and  yet 
with  a gleam  of  childish  life  in  His  expression.” 

When  expressing  their  opinion  regarding  the 
author  of  the  painting,  the  papers  of  course  were 
conservative.  The  Globe  announced  the  dis- 
covery of  a painting  of  a Madonna  and  Child, 
“said  to  be  by  Raphael.”  A few  weeks  after, 
mentioning  the  painting  again,  The  Globe  adds, 
“There  are  many  reasons  to  believe  that  it  is  by 
the  brush  of  the  great  Raphael.”  The  Boston 
Transcript  wrote  September  21,  1912;  “There  is 
no  manner  of  doubt  that  it  is  in  the  Raphaelesque 
style.”  The  Boston  Herald  announced  it  in  the 
following  words:  “Raphael’s  painting  called 
‘Mary  and  the  Infant  Child,’  which  aroused 
widespread  interest  when  it  was  discovered 
seven  years  ago  in  an  attic  in  one  of  the  suburbs 
of  Boston,  is  attracting  art  lovers  from  far  and 
near  to  the  studio  of  Ryan  and  Duffee,  500 
Boylston  Street,  where  the  painting  is  being 
exhibited.” 

The  Boston  Post  has  been  especially  instru- 
mental in  making  this  marvelous  painting 
known.  The  impression  it  creates  on  visitors  is 
described  in  its  issue  of  March  2,  1913:  “This 
painting  is  so  wonderfully  executed  that  many 
who  have  seen  it  immediately  realize  that  a 


EUGENE  BEAUHARNAIS.  DUKE  OF  LEUCHTENBERG 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  163 


feeling  of  awe  and  devotion  is  demanded  of 
them.  In  fact,  the  painting  represents  a very 
close  relationship,  on  the  part  of  the  artist,  with 
Him  from  whom  all  things  are  and  have  their 
being.  This  seems  to  radiate  from  the  face  of 
the  Mother  Saint  and  return  in  the  greatest  of 
childlike  simplicity  from  the  Infant  Christ. 
And  as  it  permeates  the  very  air  around  this 
sacred  bit  of  canvas,  those  who  really  love  art 
and  understand  the  wonders  it  portrays,  feel 
that  this  picture  has  transported  them  to  the 
heights  of  artistic  expression.  In  fact,  Boston 
rises  one  step  farther  toward  its  goal  of  perfection 
by  this  fortunate  contribution  to  the  world’s 
greatest  treasure.” 

After  the  discovery  of  the  painting  the  new 
owners  looked  for  copies  or  reproductions  of 
one  kind  or  another.  The  first  one  was  unearthed 
in  a southern  branch  of  the  very  family  to  which 
the  original  had  belonged-  It  was  a mezzotint, 
believed  at  first  to  have  been  made  in  France, 
when,  recently,  a second  specimen  of  the  same 
work  was  brought  to  the  studio.  The  inscription 
on  it  proved  the  American  origin  of  the  mezzotint. 

Then  a book  case  was  found,  which,  it  is 
claimed,  was  at  one  time  the  property  of  Na- 
poleon. It  has  miniatures  painted  on  ivory  of  the 
Sistine  Madonna  and  of  the  Madonna  Gonzaga. 


164  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 

Another  very  curious  copy,  an  oil  painting, 
was  sold  at  an  auction  in  the  salesrooms  of 
Leonard  and  Company,  Bromfield  Street,  Boston. 
From  some  differences  in  the  composition  and 
coloring  it  could  easily  be  seen  that  the  painter 
did  not  copy  from  the  original  but  from  some  old 
engraving.  The  painting  is  signed  Sao  Ricardo. 
There  is  no  such  name.  The  copyist  perhaps 
finding  on  the  engraving  before  him  the  intials 
“S.  R.”  (Santi  Raphael),  with  the  carelessness 
peculiar  to  the  painters  of  his  time,  forged  out 
of  them  the  signature  “Sao  Ricardo.” 

A fifth  copy,  an  old  Italian  miniature  painted 
on  porcelain,  was  found  in  an  Italian  family  of 
Boston.  It  now  belongs  to  the  writer.  Another 
copy  is  a lithograph  made  in  Munich  of  the 
Leuchtenberg  Madonna.  An  old  lithograph 
made  in  Berlin,  Germany,  was  found  in  the 
Convent  of  the  Cenacle,  Brighton,  Mass.  The 
original  is  attributed  to  Murillo.  Miss  Free- 
man, Beacon  Street,  Boston,  owns  a small 
reproduction  of  the  painting.  Of  this  one  also 
the  original  is  attributed  to  Murillo.  Two 
specimens  of  a chromolithograph  are  owned  one 
by  a Miss  Kelly,  the  second  by  the  Misses 
McGail,  Newbury  Street,  Boston.  In  Ryan  and 
Duffee’s  studio  there  are  two  more  chromo- 
lithographs, one  made  in  Paris,  the  other  one 


BOSTON 


MADONNA  LEUCHTENBERG 

(MUNICH  LITHOGRAPHY) 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


165 


in  Berlin.  They  do  not  give  the  name  of  the 
original  painter.  A beautiful  oil  copy  at  Miss  A. 
Thayer’s,  Boston,  is  attributed  by  family  tra- 
dition to  Van  Dyck.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Herbert 
L.  Kelly,  Malden,  Mass.,  have  a miniature  copy 
on  porcelain.  It  is  in  the  family  over  a hundred 
years.  A fifteenth  copy,  an  oil  painting  on 
canvas,  is  in  Father  Murphy’s  Rectory,  South 
Boston.  The  straining  board  bears  an  inscrip- 
tion done  with  the  pencil  in  times  gone  by,  and 
containing  the  words,  “die  heilige  Junfrau, 
Murillo.’’  This  is  a copy  of  the  Madonna 
Le  uchtenberg.  Three  more  have  been  found  in 
Newton,  Mass.  Others  still  are  known  to  exist 
in  Boston. 

The  Extension  Magazine  was  instrumental 
in  calling  the  attention  of  the  American  public 
to  this  composition.  The  owners  of  the  original 
were  thus  made  to  know  of  the  existence  of  other 
old  copies. 

Reverend  Henry  Willman  wrote  from  Janes- 
ville, Wisconsin:  “For  several  years  I have  been 
looking  for  some  reference  regarding  a painting 
of  ‘Mary  and  the  Infant  Christ,’  which  is  in 
the  possession  of  a family  in  this  city.  The 
first  reference  or  illustration  I have  seen  is  that 
in  the  Extension  Catholic  Monthly  referring 
to  a painting  now  in  your  possession.  This 


166 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 


illustration  is  an  exact  copy  of  the  painting  I 
refer  to.  The  family  in  whose  possession  it  is 
has  lost  the  written  history  of  the  picture,  but 
the  family  tradition  is  that  their  grandfather 
valued  it  as  a masterpiece.  It  truly  looks  it. 
The  size  of  the  picture  is  15  inches  wide  and 
18  inches  long.  It  was  brought  West  from  New 
York  State  about  1840.” 

Sister  Mary  Loretta,  Providence  Academy, 
Vancouver,  Washington,  gave  some  information 
about  an  old  copy  in  that  State.  “There  is  a 
beautiful  copy  of  this  Madonna  in  a Jesuit 
Church  in  one  of  the  first  Indian  Missions  of 
this  State.  The  painting  was  brought  from 
Europe  by  one  of  the  early  Missionaries.  It  is 
considered  a work  of  art.  It  has  a history  all 
its  own.” 

O’Connor’s  Art  Gallery,  Trinity  College, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  harbors  “an  exact  copy  of 
this  same  .subject — an  exquisite  painting  on 
porcelain”.  This  painting  is  said  to  be  a copy 
of  the  Madonna  Leuchtenberg. 

Milton  Lytle,  Philadelphia,  Penn.,  wrote  about 
her  copy:  “My  copy  of  the  picture  is  painted 

on  canvas,  14x17  inches,  and  is  precisely  like 
the  illustration  in  the  newspaper,  answering  to 
the  description  in  every  respect,  the  colors  and 
arrangement  of  the  clothing  on  the  figures  being 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  167 


as  those  given.  If  you  have  the  original,  I have 
an  excellent  copy.” 

In  the  same  city  another  copy  exists  in  the 
Convent  of  Notre  Dame,  West  Rittenhouse 
Square.  A beautiful  copy  belongs  to  Mrs.  Gage, 
Chicago.  From  Lake  Providence,  Louisiana, 
the  following  letter  was  sent  to  the  studio  by 
Nora  Hooker  Fischer:  ‘‘We  have  had  in  our 

family  for  years  a beautiful  painting  on  copper 
plate  of  the  Madonna  Leuchtenberg,  marked  so, 
and  it  is  the  same  in  every  particular  as  the  cut 
which  you  gave  to  the  Monitor.  My  Madonna 
is  exquisite.  The  paint  is  full  of  thousands  of 
tiny  cracks  and  yet  upon  holding  it  from  the 
eye — say  two  feet — they  cannot  be  seen — the 
coloring  has  not  faded  and  is  soft  and  most 
lovely.  It  is  quite  the  gem  of  pictures  in  this 
part  of  the  country.  The  copper  plate  is  9J4 
inches  by  llM  inches.  The  picture  was  brought 
to  this  country  by  a Bavarian  about  fifty  or 
sixty  years  ago.  He  had  gotten  into  political 
difficulties  in  the  upper  Palatinate  and  came  to 
the  new  world  with  his  treasures.” 

A number  of  photos  of  old  copies  were  sent  to 
the  studio  with  no  further  information  about  the 
existence  of  other  lithographs  or  oil  paintings. 
Amongst  all  copies,  the  Leuchtenberg  Madonna 
is  the  most  famous.  This,  however,  is  no  longer 


168  Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga 

mentioned  by  authors  on  Murillo  as  a work  by 
the  Spanish  master. 

This  Madonna  Leuchtenberg  is  now  in  Petro- 
grad,  Russia.  After  the  death  of  Eugene 
Beauharnais,  the  first  Duke  of  Leuchtenberg, 
his  eldest  son,  Augustus,  took  the  title,  and 
after  his  death  it  was  assumed  by  his  youngest 
brother,  Maximilian.  Maximilian  married  a 
Russian  Grand  Duchess  and  became  a dignitary 
of  the  Russian  Court,  so  he  took  his  residence  in 
St.  Petersburg  and  removed  his  gallery  there. 

But  all  these  copies  put  side  by  side  with  the 
original  only  show  that  the  Madonna  Gonzaga, 
or  the  Madonna  della  Sedia,  cannot  be  copied 
in  a manner  worthy  of  the  original.  Raphael  is 
and  will  remain  forever  the  foremost  painter  of 
the  Madonna.  He  towers  above  all  other  artists 
4 ‘quasi  inter  vibuma  cypressus.” 

Our  remarks  on  the  Madonna  Gonzaga  we 
conclude  with  the  words  from  the  Boston  Sun- 
day Post,  March  2,  1913.  “A  Raphael;  at  the 
mere  whisper  of  such  a magic  word  the  whole 
world  becomes  spellbound.  Wonder,  delight, 
and  awe  take  possession  of  our  souls  and  throw 
us  into  a whirl  of  contending  emotions.  Of  this 
cause  it  is  hard  to  give  a sufficient  analysis 
unless  by  good  fortune  one  has  stood  before  the 
face  of  a ‘Madonna’  or  studied  the  countless 


Raphael’s  Madonna  Gonzaga  169 


phases  of  expression  in  the  ‘Transfiguration/ 
Admiring  centuries  have  looked  up  with  almost 
sacred  adoration  to  the  masterpieces  that  war  in 
all  its  ravages  has  spared  them.  Generations 
have  realized  that  Raphael’s  art  was  proof  of 
absolute  harmony  with  nature’s  God,  thereby 
making  this  genius  of  the  world  of  art  an  in- 
spired man  of  uncommon  mould,  who  could 
infuse  the  sublime  love  of  a higher  being  into 
the  face  and  action  of  a Madonna  or  cause  the 
radiance  of  innocence  and  joy  to  beam  forth 
from  the  features  of  his  Infants.” 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

English. 

ABBOT,  Jacob;  Joseph  Bonaparte,  New  York, 
1900.  SIS 

BROWN,  G.  Baldwin;  The  Fine  Arts,  New  York, 
1891. 

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